


Magical Spanner

by Raven_Mortem



Series: The Wayward Toolbox [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Animagus, F/F, F/M, Magic, Memory Loss (Or is it?), Mystery, TARDIS - Freeform, Time Lady (Oofc), Time and space, Vampire (Oofc), parallel worlds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 76,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28286700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raven_Mortem/pseuds/Raven_Mortem
Summary: (Rewritten)First in the Wayward Toolbox Series----Truth and lies, paths decieved. One of light, the other conceeds.Pad down one, the other will fade. But know the cost must be paid.Lady of magic, Lady of time. Fate of both are intertwined.For if she does not see the light, darkness will become her plight.----Zaly Kendra Pond had been annoying her sister when out of nowhere, a blue police box crashed into their garden shed.Moments later, she and Amelia met a strange, and curiously soaked pair who went by the Doctor and Tanith.But when the whispered voices Zaly had heard her whole life grew silent, she hoped she could forget the encounter.Fate had other ideas, however.Ten years later, Zaly picked the wrong pocket and found that her life had never been more complicated.Now all she wants to know is if she would ever get home....wherever that may be.
Relationships: Melody Pond (Mels) & Original Female Character, Ninth Doctor & Original Female Character, Severus Snape & Original Female Character
Series: The Wayward Toolbox [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2072025
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

“Oh, shove off it, Reg,” Tanith said with a laugh, pushing the younger wizard away as he tried to hug her, “It hasn’t been that long.”

“Three weeks,” Regulus Black stated, placing his hand over his heart like she had wounded him, “You said only three days and you were gone for three weeks.”

“To be quite fair, dear brother,” Lucius Malfoy purred as he managed to slip between the two bickering friends, his arm somehow finding itself around Tanith’s shoulders, “Our sister does have a distinct advantage of....” his eyebrows creased ever so slightly as he tried to remember the words the red head had used often to explain how she travelled.

“Interdimensional space and time travel,” Severus Snape quipped, looking at the trio with a raised eyebrow.

“But....that has nothing to....” Tanith looked between the three wizards who were all giving her the exact same expression and her shoulder’s slumped.

“Ha! I knew it!” Regulus exclaimed in delight, pointing at Severus and Malfoy, “You two owe me a butterbeer.”

“We made no such bet,” Lucius stated with a sniff, “And besides,” his lip twitched upwards in amusement as his voice lowered so that only they could hear him, “No matter how much our sister tries to get us to believe that she is a Time Lady, we all know that she has a terrible sense of time.”

“I do not!” Tanith cried out in mock outrage, pushing Lucius’ arm from her shoulders as she turned to him with a false glare, “I have a perfect sense of time.”

“Seventh Year, Potions. Twenty minutes late _and_ forgot your bag,” Severus said, his eyebrow once again cocked as Tanith looked to him.

“Then there was the library,” Regulus added with a grin, “Though you didn’t even turn up for _our_ study session.”

“But....”

“Oh, then there was your _own_ birthday,” Lucius injected with a smirk, causing Regulus and Severus to snort at the memory and Tanith to pout.

“I have you know that I was not responsible for that,” Tanith muttered, crossing her arms.

“You showed up a day early,” Severus put his own two cents in, “With....Christmas decorations if I remember correctly.”

“My Uncle gave me a box of stuff he had found....somewhere in his ship,” Tanith tried to explain, “He didn’t know they were for Christmas.”

“Can’t see how,” Regulus murmured, causing the others to glance at him. “What?” he asked, “Your birthday is on Halloween. How could he have forgotten that? Red and green are very different to orange and black.”

“He hadn’t exactly seen me for over two centuries,” Tanith pointed out, “And he isn’t really a celebrations sort of person....well, not anymore.”

“That....would be explanatory,” Severus said slowly, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought over her words.

Tanith glanced at Severus, a small frown tugging at her lips before she was distracted by Regulus when he grabbed her arm.

“So, when did you have to be at the Ministry?” he asked, his eyes flickering to Lucius when Severus looked away from them.

Lucius sighed as he placed a hand on Severus’ shoulder, causing him to stop walking and look to the platinum blonde. “I think Severus and I will meet you both at the Leaky. There is something I need to do,” he gave Severus a pointed look, his grip tightening.

Tanith looked between the pair before nodding. It wasn’t hard for her to see what Lucius _needed_ to do and she couldn’t help but feel at fault.

“We’ll meet there in, say, half an hour,” Regulus said, “I’ll let you know when we get there,” he tapped his left forearm and the others agreed, although Severus’ was a little reluctant.

Without another word, Lucius disapparated, taking Severus with him.

“Stop blaming yourself,” Regulus cut through Tanith’s musings and she glanced at him.

“And who is to blame, then?” she asked, looking a little lost, “’Cause I can’t see anyone to blame _but_ me.”

Regulus wrapped his arm around Tanith’s shoulders and they started walking again. “Biology,” he said, earning himself a jab into the side. “Okay, okay,” he added quickly before he let out a heavy breath, “Look, Tanith. I know I may not be the oldest or the wisest, but sometimes it’s better to let go. You can’t blame your own biology for who you do and do not like.”

“But he is different,” Tanith muttered with a frown, her dark brown eyes slowly turning gold as small particles swirled in her iris’, “You and Lucius, I can see the bond we share clearly.” She grabbed Regulus’ free hand and looked at it, her head tilting to the side as they both paused in their walking.

Regulus didn’t say anything as he watched Tanith studying his hand, seeing things that only she could see. He knew what a privilege and a gift it was to have a friend such as her, and even more so to know that she considered him and Lucius as brothers. Severus on the other hand....Well, Regulus had always thought that the man was complicated from the first day he had met him.

“You probably think what I see as foolish, but,” Tanith traced an invisible line between their interconnected hands and Regulus followed her action closely, thinking her anything but foolish, “I can see the blue of your magic,” her finger trailed down his pointer finger, “The swirl of your timeline and all its possibilities. But I can also see the weave that brought us together.”

“And what of Severus?” Regulus asked after a moment, “What do you see with him?”

Tanith frowned, “It is there,” she stated as her gaze looked away from Regulus, the golden particles swirling faster as she tried to find the words to explain why Severus was different. “But there is something....different with his weave. It is tighter in some parts, but almost non-existent in others. I feel drawn to him, but not in the way my mother was drawn to my father. It is like his weave is....undecided?”

“What does that mean?” Regulus questioned with a frown of his own. He knew that Tanith was not fully human, even though that the armband she wore at all times would have you thinking differently. But he also understood that Tanith was different, emotionally.

Time Lady’s, and Lords Regulus guessed, didn’t _fall_ in love like humans. Instead, they found themselves drawn to the other half of their soul and it had almost ruined the relationship she had with Severus when they realised that the pull she felt to him wasn’t the same. It had taken Lucius to pull back the tattered remains of what they had once shared to something akin to what they had now, and although there was still a bump in the road here and there, Regulus could see that the four of them were almost at the stage they had been before the whole mess had started.

“I don’t know?” Tanith said, regaining Regulus’ attention as the gold particles faded from her eyes, “It’s like his whole....make-up is undecided. I have spoken to Mother about it, but since she cannot see what I can, she is also uncertain. And Father,” Tanith gave Regulus a look and he nodded.

“Yeah. Say no more,” the wizard muttered. Tanith’s father was the absolute last person any of them wanted to go to with any troubles, let alone dating problems. And Regulus still had the feeling that the older wizard was _still_ on the fence about himself, Severus and Lucius, even though they had pretty much grown up with Tanith.

 _Give or take a few centuries,_ Regulus added mentally, knowing that Tanith was most definitely not twenty-one.

“Mother did say that it could be something to do with Severus’ timeline,” Tanith continued to muse.

“Oh?” Regulus looked to her curiously.

Tanith nodded, “When I mentioned that it seemed as though his life depended on a fixed point, Mother said that the bond we share could also depend on that.”

“And she didn’t say anything else?” he asked.

“No,” Tanith huffed, “Just that I had to wait until ‘the wolf’s destruction’ to learn the truth behind what I see.”

“We all can’t be seer’s, Tanith,” Regulus said as he pulled her along, “But anyway, we need to go, otherwise we will never meet up with Lucius and Severus at the Leaky and I really don’t want to be in the Ministry longer than needed. Potter and my brother already have enough fun trying to make my life difficult.”

“I never understood how they became Auror’s,” Tanith muttered as she let Regulus drag her along.

\----

“When will you stop?” Lucius hissed to Severus the moment they appeared in an alleyway near the Leaky Cauldron.

“When you tell me what I need to stop, I will let you know when it will stop,” Severus replied as he looked around, not sparing Lucius a glance.

Lucius growled lowly, a noise that was almost unheard of from the pureblood wizard, but it did get Severus to finally look at him. “Tanith has done nothing wrong and the longer you continue to blame _her_ for things that we all know are out of her control, the more she will continue to distance herself from us. From you.”

“She isn’t distancing herself from us,” Severus stated, his eyebrows furrowing as he crossed his arms against his chest.

“No, of course not,” Lucius replied sarcastically, “That isn’t the reason behind why she was gone for three weeks instead of days. Or the last time you decided to bring up what she is and we didn’t see hide nor hair of her for days.” Lucius sighed, shaking his head at Severus, “You need to let it go, Severus. You can not continue to blame her for the fact that she doesn’t feel the same way. I know she feels something for you, different to what she does with myself and Regulus, but it does not mean that they are the same feelings you have for her.”

“It is not....” Severus paused, searching for the right words to voice his thoughts, “I do not blame her for what happened.”

“Then tell her that!” Lucius exclaimed, “Tanith has no idea what the connection is that you two share and she feels that it is her fault that the outcome was not what either of you had expected. I’m getting sick and tired of running back and forth between the pair of you, fixing up the ruins of what I had thought was an unshakable friendship and I know that Tom and Serenity are starting to question your intentions with Tanith.”

“What?!” Severus asked, turning fully to face the platinum blonde.

“Severus,” Lucius placed a gentle hand on his friends shoulder, “You seem to forget that you are not the only one whom hides what they feel. Tanith is hurting just as much as you, possibly even more.”

“But she has done nothing wrong,” Severus injected, causing Lucius to just raise an eyebrow.

“No, she hasn’t,” the older wizard agreed, “But it doesn’t stop her from feeling as though she has.” He squeezed Severus’ shoulder, “Talk with her. I think it’s a conversation that is long overdue, brother.”

Severus and Lucius eyed each other for a moment before Severus’ shoulders dropped slightly and Lucius removed his hand after it seemed as though he had finally driven home what he and Regulus had tried to get Severus to see for the last three years.

“Oh, and who do we have here?” a voice startled the pair and they turned towards it, their wands already drawn although kept hidden in case of muggles.

“What do you want, Black?” Severus snapped, unable to stop the automatic reaction to stiffen at the sight of Regulus’ brother and his best mate Potter. He had no idea how Regulus and Sirius ended up being so different, though he guessed that the company they had kept as they grew up was a contributing factor.

“Is that how you address an Auror, Snivellus?” James Potter replied with a sneer.

Lucius stepped forwards, placing a hand against Severus’ chest when the wizard began to raise his wand. “When we see any Auror’s, we will make sure to greet them the way they deserve. Right now, however,” Lucius looked around the alley they were in, just missing the rat that had scampered past him, “I do not see any.”

Potter scowled, although Black only grinned as he said, “Well then. It is a good thing there aren’t any Auror’s around. Otherwise they might have something to say about him,” he pointed behind the two wizards, causing them to turn to see Peter Pettigrew with his wand aimed at them.

Before either could react, they were hit with three different spells.

\----

“How did you go?” Regulus asked Tanith as she exited Bagnold’s office. Tanith grinned, holding up a rolled up scroll and Regulus laughed as he hugged her. “I knew you could do it,” he told her as he pulled away, “Dunno why you always doubt yourself, Tanith.”

“I don’t doubt myself,” Tanith retorted as she handed Regulus the scroll, “I’m just realistic.”

“You’re the most unrealistic person I have ever met,” Regulus said with a snort as he opened the scroll, his eyes skimming over the words. “They want you to be an Unspeakable?” he snickered, looking at Tanith as he added, “I wonder how long it will take Bagnold to realise you already are an Unspeakable.”

She rolled her eyes, snatching the scroll back and rolled it up, “Never hopefully, and I did have another face back then. But, it’s bad enough that Dumbledore has been showing up where he’s not wanted. The last thing I need is someone to go and tell him that he had an Unspeakable in his _school_ without him knowing.”

“Touché,” Regulus tapped the side of his nose before he frowned, “What do you mean that Dumbledore had been showing up? I thought he had left you alone after the last encounter he had with your father.”

“I wish,” Tanith muttered with a scowl, “The old coot seems to be trying to figure out where I go when I travel. Father told me he had appeared in Russia after you and the others left that false trail with Valencia.”

Regulus sputtered, “Wait. You’re telling me that we went on that forsaken ‘camping trip’ just to see if Dumbledore would show up?”

Tanith shrugged, “It was the only way to see if Dumbledore was indeed following me. I had thought I had seen him a few times in odd locations, though I hadn’t been sure until I spotted him in muggle London a few days before I left,” her nose wrinkled in distaste, “And his rather....flamboyant style really does stand out in a crowd. I have no idea how he thought that his bright purple and blue clothes were going to blend into a crowd of investors.”

“His style does need a lot of improvement,” Regulus murmured.

“Oh, Tanith, Regulus. It’s a surprise to see you here?” a voice neither the wizard or Time Lady wanted to hear.

“Hello, Lily,” Tanith greeted with a sigh as she and Regulus turned to the witch, “Is Harry with his father?” she asked, not seeing Harry Potter with his mother.

Lily scowled unattractively, “Who my son is with is none of your concern,” she snapped and Tanith and Regulus just exchanged looks.

“What do you want, Lily?” Regulus asked as he moved to stand partially in front of Tanith, knowing the pairs history, “Come to complain to the Minister about us being dark wizards and witches again?”

“No,” Lily pulled something from the bag at her side, “In fact, I came to try and apologise.”

“Apologise? Sure you are,” Tanith spoke up, stepping up beside Regulus. Her expression told Lily that she wasn’t believing a word that came from her mouth. “Why are you really here, Lily? I doubt that Dumbledore would want his _image_ tarnished because someone saw you talking with a supposedly dark witch,” she glanced around and upon seeing multiple people already looking at them and whispering, Tanith looked back to Lily with a raised eyebrow, “In the Ministry no less. What would the papers say?”

“Look, I don’t care what the others think,” Lily huffed as she held something out to Tanith, “And I know that it probably means nothing to either of you two, but I _really_ am sorry for the way we treated you guys at school.”

Tanith and Regulus just stared at Lily and the item she was holding out before Tanith stepped forwards. “You are right, your words do mean nothing to me,” she said, looking down to the origami flower that Lily was holding out, “But an effort is still and effort,” she reached out to the flower.

“Tanith, no!” Regulus shouted as he simultaneously drew his wand to try and stop whatever Lily was doing as well as pull Tanith away from the red head the moment he saw Lily’s smirk.

His efforts were for naught however as the moment Tanith touched the flower, there was a distinct tug in his stomach and the trio disappeared.


	2. One

** Leadworth: Easter, 1996 **

A ten year old red head hummed quietly as she read a book. Her silver and green bracelet that sat halfway up her forearm glinted in the dim lighting.

“You’re doing it again,” someone huffed and a pair of unnatural dark brown, almost black eyes flickered up to peer over her book to look at the source of the voice.

“Doing what?” Zaly asked her sister, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Humming that tune,” seven year old Amelia Pond complained as she slid off her bed, looking at her sister oddly, “I don’t even know where you heard it.”

Zaly shrugged, “It just comes to me,” she replied before her eyebrows creased when Amelia knelt beside her bed, “What are you doing?” she questioned as she closed her book with a thud.

“Praying to Santa,” her sister explained before closing her eyes and pressed her hands together, leaning her elbows on the side of her bed in a praying position.

“You know he’s not real.”

Amelia opened an eye and peered at her sister. “You may not believe in him, but it doesn’t mean that others don’t,” she said before closing her eye again. “Dear Santa. Thank you for the dolls and pencils-"

“Don’t forget the fish,” Zaly cut in, pointing to the small tank that sat on her bedside table with a small goldfish swimming around inside.

Amelia shot her sister a glare before closing her eyes.... _again_.

“And the fish,” she huffed, causing Zaly to grin as she lent back against the wall. “It’s Easter now,” Amelia continued, trying to ignore her sister, “So I hope I didn’t wake you, but honest, it's an emergency. There’s a crack in our wall.”

That had Zaly's grin disappearing as she shifted uneasily on her bed, her gaze being drawn to the W shaped crack that was on the wall behind their shared desk. The red head didn’t know why the crack scared her as much as it did, but she also couldn’t deny that there was something decisively familiar about it. Like she had seen it somewhere before.

Whispered voices reached Zaly's ears and she tore her gaze away from the crack, her already dark brown eyes taking on an even darker shade as she tried to block them out. As always however, her effort was in vain, even though they did become quieter like voices whispering in the wind.

“Aunt Sharron says it's just an ordinary crack,” Amelia continued, oblivious to Zaly's problem, “But me and my sister know it’s not, because at night there’s voices. So please, please could you send someone to fix it? Or a policeman. Or a-"

She was cut off when a whirring sound broke through the normal silence that came from living in such a small town. It was followed quickly by a large crash that made both girls jump in surprise by how close it was.

Amelia opened her eyes and looked to Zaly, who was frowning as she stared at the window. The younger sister was quick to reclose her eyes. “Back in a minute,” she said before getting up and rushing over to the window.

Zaly followed, grabbing the torch that sat beside her fish tank and shined it out the window. Her jaw dropped while Amelia grinned at the sight of a blue police box laying on its side, in the ruins of where their garden shed had once stood.

“Thank you, Santa,” Amelia said before rushing out of the room.

“Amelia, wait!” Zaly called after her. She frowned, looking back to the box before following after her sister. “And they call me crazy,” she muttered to herself, wondering why her sister didn’t seem to see how odd it was for a police box to have crashed into their garden shed.

The red heads steps paused when she saw the phone, though she was quick to brush the thought of calling the authorities or her aunty when she heard the back door close and continued after her sister, slipping on a pair of boots before rushing out the door, leaving her jacket behind.

She reached Amelia, just as the doors to the police box were thrown open and a grappling hook flew out of the box. Zaly couldn’t help but blink at the sight, finding it both strange and curious as to where it had come from. The box didn’t look that big, and from what she learned from a few books here and there, police boxes only really had enough room for one person to be locked inside until help arrived.

Her thoughts were broken and she jumped in surprise when a soaking wet, floppy haired man popped his head over the side of the box. It didn’t take the man long to notice the two girls and Zaly blinked at him when he asked the most unexpected question. “Could I have an apple?”

“Doctor! What are you doing?! Let me up!” a females voice called from the box and the man blanched before disappearing, only to reappear a moment later with a black haired woman....who was also curiously soaked.

“Sorry, Tanith,” the man, or Doctor apologised as he helped the woman up to sit on the side of the box, “But all I can think about are apples. I love apples,” he continued before his face lit up like a child on Christmas, “Maybe I’m having a craving?” he breathed, his voice full of wonder as he stared at the black haired woman, “That’s new. Never had cravings before.”

Zaly and Amelia watched on, rooted to the spot as the two adults continued to speak amongst themselves, almost as if they had forgotten the sisters were even there.

“Believe me, Doc,” Tanith remarked, “I really want a banana. Still have that last one from Villengard?” she rummaged through the mans tattered pockets as she continued to ramble, “Really should go back there sometime soon. I heard that the grove really caused the planet to do a complete one-eighty. Went into the produce market after you blew the weapons factory up. Don’t think they ever realised how fertile the soil was.” Coming up empty in her search, Tanith sighed in disappointment, “Of all the times to misplace a banana.”

“I wonder if it fell in the pool,” the Doctor thought out loud and the pair glanced down into the box. “Whoa. Look at that,” he exclaimed when he noticed the state his ship was in.

“She’s really gonna hate us for this,” Tanith muttered with a shake of her head before looking to the Doctor, “Guess that answers the question of what happens when two of us regenerate after holding it off for so long.”

The Doctor brushed some of Tanith’s hair out of her face. “I’m sorry, Tanith. I know-"

He was cut off when Tanith placed a finger over his lips. “Doc, if you even try taking all the blame for this, I will throw you back into that pool myself.”

The Doctor's eyes widened in alarm, only to be reminded of their new company when Amelia spoke up, “Are you two okay?”

The two adults turned to the sisters in surprise before the Doctor replied, “Just had a fall. All the way down there, right into the library.”

“Hell of a climb back up,” Tanith added before she blinked when something caught her eye and her gaze narrowed and flickering back and forth between the sisters before landing on Zaly's arm....or more specifically, her bracelet.

“But you're soaking wet,” Zaly pointed out, frowning at Tanith when her eyes widened in shock and surprise before she tried to get the Doctor's attention.

“We were in the swimming pool,” the Doctor said, ignoring Tanith's attempts.

“You said you were in the library,” Zaly continued, raising an eyebrow at the man. She couldn’t see how a swimming pool could fit inside the box, let alone a swimming pool _and_ a library.

“So was the swimming pool,” the Doctor shot back before glancing to Tanith with a frown, “What is it?” he questioned.

Zaly looked at her sister as Tanith leant towards the Doctor and whispered something to him. The Doctor's eyes shot to Amelia and Zaly before he also noticed the same thing Tanith had and his eyes widened as he looked back to Tanith.

“But, this....You mean....Right this minute?” he asked her.

Tanith only nodded and the Doctor ran a hand through his wet hair. He looked back to the sisters, though his focus seemed to be more on Zaly than Amelia which only caused the older sister to frown at him and Tanith to poke him in the side.

“Staring is rude,” Zaly heard Tanith scold the Doctor, who only rolled his eyes in response as he muttered something under his breath. It was too quiet for Zaly's ears to pick up, but she grew rather curious as to what he had said when Tanith wacked him on the arm as her cheeks took on a slight red hue.

The Doctor grinned smugly, despite the fact he was rubbing his arm where he had been hit. “So, what do we do, then?” he asked after a moment of silence.

Tanith frowned as she glanced at the sisters before leaning close to the Doctor again and whispered something else to him. He nodded with a hum and seemed to think over what he had been told.

“Are you a policeman?” Amelia asked the Doctor after another beat of silence and regained their attention.

“Why? Did you call a policeman?” he replied with a question of his own, glancing at Tanith in confusion as he hoped off the side of the box.

“Did you come about the crack in our wall?” Amelia continued with her questions.

“What crack?” the Doctor asked, looking to Tanith in confusion before he cried out in pain and fell to the ground.

Zaly rushed forwards to see if he was okay as Tanith hopped down beside the Doctor. “No! Stay back!” the Doctor exclaimed, causing Zaly to freeze, unsure as to what was going on.

“What’s wrong?” she questioned, rather confused and alarmed as Tanith knelt down beside the man.

“Are you okay?” Amelia asked, appearing beside her sister as she watched the adults in concern.

“No, I’m fine,” the Doctor told them before they all looked to his hands when they started to glow with a golden light, “This is all perfectly norm-” he broke off as a wisp of golden energy escaped his mouth.

“You need to rest,” Tanith told the Doctor, “Don’t want a repeat of what happened last time,” she added as an afterthought, but the Doctor just grinned at her. “Your coma,” Tanith huffed with a roll of her eyes, although the small smile on her lips gave her fondness for the man away.

“Who are you?” Amelia questioned as the woman stepped away from the Doctor....who was now pouting for some reason.

“I don’t know yet. I’m still cooking. Does it scare yo-” the Doctor said, only to be cut off by Tanith when she threw up her hands.

“This is Christmas all over again,” the black haired woman exclaimed before pointing at the Doctor, “If you decide to pass out on me, I’m going to....” she scowled, “Oh, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I know you wont like it.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes before looking to Zaly questionably. She frowned, unsure about why he was looking at her like that until she realised he was waiting on an answer to his question.

“No, it doesn’t,” she told him slowly as she glanced between the pair, “Though you are both quite loud. I’m not to sure how you did that glowy thing, though. That was a bit....odd.”

The Doctor looked to Tanith with a grin, only causing the woman to shove him slightly. There was another small smile that once again gave away the fact she wasn’t annoyed by the man’s strange antics.

“No, he means the crack in your wall. Does _it_ scare you?” she clarified, taking a few steps away from the Doctor as she did so.

Zaly stiffened automatically at the question, her eyes darkening further as the voice grew louder, no longer the quiet whisper that they normally were. Amelia may only hear whispers at night about some ‘Prisoner Zero’ escaping, but Zaly had never told her sister that she always heard them.

Out loud. In her head. It didn’t matter where Zaly was or what the time was. She found they never left her alone and although she could ignore them when they were quiet whispers, it became almost impossible when they grew louder, even painful at times.

“Yes,” Amelia told them.

The Doctor suddenly jumped to his feet and Zaly couldn’t help but wonder if Tanith knew he was going to do that. “Well then, no time to lose,” he said, “I’m the Doctor and this lovely lady is Tanith,” he continued, glancing at Tanith who only shook her head in amusement, “Do everything we tell you, don’t ask stupid questions, and don’t wonder off.” He suddenly turned serious, straightening a little more as he looked between Tanith and Zaly. “And you two,” he pointed at both of them, “Don’t touch each other,” he told them as he started to walk off, muttering to himself, “Last thing I need is a paradox to deal with as well.”

Tanith snorted when he walked straight into a tree, earning a curious look Zaly as Amelia rushed towards the Doctor.

“Are you all right?” the younger red head questioned in concern as she looked down at the man.

“Early days,” he muttered as he glared playfully at Tanith from the ground, “Got a little distracted. Think the steering’s a bit off.”

“More than just the steering,” Tanith commented as she helped him up.

“Oi!” the Doctor exclaimed in outrage, “I have you know everything is untested. How am I supposed to know what works and what doesn’t without trying first?”

“Well,” Tanith drawled, “Most of us sleep first, then try later,” she told him as they headed towards the house.

\----

“If you’re a doctor, why does your box say ‘Police'?” Amelia asked curiously as she handed the Doctor an apple.

Tanith made a beeline for the fruit bowl and grinned in delight when she saw a banana and grabbed it, earning an odd look from Zaly.

“They’re not police,” Zaly told her sister as she headed out of the room, though she paused at the doorway, “I am rather curious to know how you managed to get a police box to crash into our garden shed, however.”

The Doctor, who was about to bite into the apple, paused and looked to Tanith who just shrugged as she make quick work of peeling the banana. “That’s a secret,” he told Zaly before biting into the fruit, only to promptly spit it back out with a look of disgust. “That’s disgusting. What is that?” he questioned.

“An apple,” Zaly and Tanith said together, the former looking to the latter in confusion.

“Apple’s are rubbish. I hate apples,” the Doctor said, his face scrunched up in disgust.

“You said you loved them,” Amelia stated, a little confused about the mans behaviour.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to go back to bed,” Zaly told her sister before glancing at the Doctor and the mess he had made. “Please try not to leave too much of a mess,” she added before heading upstairs, only to pause with a frown when she noticed Tanith was drying her hair with a towel, wondering how the black haired woman knew where they were, though she just shook her head and continued on her way.

The moment she stepped onto the first floor, Zaly’s eyes went wide with panic when she noticed one of the doors were ajar and was quick to close it. _That shouldn’t be open,_ she thought as she closed her eyes, ignoring the whispered voice coming from the other side. There had always been something different about the voice she heard from that room, but the red head didn’t know what.

Zaly was quick to enter her room and jumped onto her bed, purposely ignoring the crack as she grabbed her book and opened it in an attempt to drown out the voices that never left her with the words she was reading.

If she realised that the whispered voices seemed to grow both louder and clearer, Zaly took no notice as she was quick to become absorbed in the book she was reading.

\----

Zaly barely looked up from her book when Amelia and the Doctor entered the room, though a curious eyebrow raised when she noticed that Tanith was not with them. She shook her head and continued reading, although she found her gaze being drawn to the Doctor as he approached the crack.

“You’ve had some cowboys in here. Not actual cowboys, though that can happen,” the Doctor muttered as he examined the crack in their wall, moving the desk out of the way.

Amelia approached the Doctor, holding something out to him. “I use to hate apples, so my mum use to put faces on them,” she explained and the Doctor looked to her and saw she was holding out an apple that had a smiley face cut into it.

Zaly frowned when she tried to remember when their mother did that, but it only caused her to wince as a sharp pain lanced through her head and the voices grew even louder. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to block them out, her hands clenching around her book in her effort.

“She sounds good, your mum,” the Doctor said as he accepted the apple and pocketed it, “I’ll keep it for later,” he added before looking back to the crack, “This wall is solid and the crack doesn’t go all the way through it. So, here’s the thing. Where’s the draught coming from?” he asked, glancing at Amelia.

Zaly’s eyebrows furrowed when she heard a faint buzzing sound and her eyes cracked open. Her curiosity won out over the instinctive need to close her eyes to try and keep the voices out as she tilted her head and watched the Doctor scanning the crack with a strange device. The moment he finished however, Zaly barely managed to hold back a whimper as the voices hit her with a vengeance, almost to the point that they were screaming. She covered her ears and screwed her eyes shut, trying to block everything out, but to no avail as broken images and voices flashed across her mind.

They were too quick to pick up what they were about and Zaly hadn’t been expecting anything of the like to occur. Her book fell from her lap as she pulled her knees closer to her chest as a small whimper made it’s way passed her lips.

Her eyes flew open the moment she felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped in surprise when there was the sound of multiple items hitting the floor. The moment her fearful gaze landed on the Doctor, whom was kneeling slightly before her, Zaly shuffled backwards away from him in alarm until her back hit the wall. She looked around the room and noticed that Tanith was standing in the doorway, Amelia beside her. Though she grew a little confused at her sisters expression.

“Hey, it’s okay, Zaly,” the Doctor said softly as he moved carefully to sit on the edge of her bed. His movements were slow as to not startle Zaly, almost acting as if she was a cornered animal. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realise,” he added quietly, almost regretfully as he spared a sorrowful glance to Tanith.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Zaly managed to get out before another sharp pain lanced through her head and she once again clenched her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands as the voices managed to become agonisingly louder, screaming at her in languages she couldn’t understand.

“My sonic screwdriver must have opened up the telepathic connection when I scanned the-"

“Doctor, you’re not helping,” Tanith snapped with a glare, cutting him off.

“Yes, yes. Sorry,” the man muttered before Zaly felt fingers on the sides of her face, causing her eyes to snap open again in alarm. “You need to relax, Zaly,” he said soothingly, ignoring the small golden particles that had started to appear in Zaly’s eyes. He knew he needed to be quick, otherwise the situation he found himself in could become disastrous.

Zaly shook her head as another whimper escaped her and closed her eyes again. “The....they’re so loud.”

 _Zaly, he can’t help you get rid of them if you don’t relax and let him in,_ Tanith’s voice told her and it took Zaly a moment to realise that the woman hadn’t spoken those words out loud.

She gasped in shock and her eyes snapped to Tanith, but the woman’s words had been just the distraction the Doctor had needed and the next thing Zaly knew was darkness.

The last whispered words she heard before oblivion overtook her was the Doctors.

_I’m sorry, Zaly._


	3. Two

** River Thames, London: 2006 **

“Nice,” a young woman muttered as she glanced at the silver watch in her hand before pocketing it and moving on through the crowd that had gathered to try and see the spaceship that had crashed into the Thames. Dark brown eyes scanned the crowed as she bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry miss,” the man said when he turned to face her.

“It’s no problem,” Zaly Pond replied with a quick smile before moving off. The smile that had been on her face grew as she tucked the mans wallet into the same pocket the watch had disappeared in moments earlier.

She glanced towards some armed soldiers that were there to keep the crowd back from the Thames and although she was a little curious as to what exactly happened with the supposed ‘alien’ spaceship, the red head also couldn’t pass up the perfect opportunity to loot some easy marks.

Moving easily through the crowd, Zaly pocketed what she had stolen from the unsuspecting observers as well as keeping an eye on the soldiers as she went. She knew that she could be doing so much better than stealing for a living, but she couldn’t deny the thrill she got from the act. Well, from any act that broke the law in general. She did have limits off course, and knew if Amelia found out what she was up to she would be murdered, but as her partner Mels always said, “What Amy doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” and Zaly couldn’t help but think they were wise words to live by.

Her sister thought that Zaly was in London studying at university, but the red head had failed to tell Amelia that she had completed her double degree by the time she had turned nineteen. Zaly had found school both boring and easy, advancing through her classes that by the time she was fifteen, she had already finished collage and had started her double degree in history and computer science.

Sure, Zaly could have gone back to study more, or even have gotten a job. But that was boring and Zaly Pond hated boring.

As she pocketed the latest stolen item, Zaly scanned the thinning crowd as she reached its end, focusing on the soldiers to make certain she hadn’t been spotted or drawn anyone’s attention. Her steps faulted momentarily when she noticed a soldier glancing in her direction a second time, his eyebrows furrowed and the moment their eyes met, she pushed a suggestion into his mind.

The man looked away before shifting on the spot and Zaly continued on her way with a small chuckle, wondering how long the poor man realised that he wasn’t busting to use the toilet. She had worked with Mels over the years perfecting her odd abilities and they had gotten the pair out of so many close calls and although Zaly was more the silent observer, she had no problems with talking rings around any officer who managed to catch them and persuade the officers to let them go with a warning.

In the rare occasion where her knowledge didn’t work in their favour, she would fiddle with their memories, making the officers forget who Mels and Zaly were. Both women were more then adept at hacking into computers and servers, removing any incriminating evidence that could get them into trouble and Zaly had thought about becoming an Ethical Hacker. But the red head also knew that if she did do that, she would come under the radar of a certain organisation, and that was the last thing Zaly wanted.

Whistling a tune that was both familiar and new, the red head ‘bumped’ into one last person on the edge of the crowd. “Oh, sorry,” she muttered to the man who was wearing a leather jacket before continuing on walking, whistling once again. She wasn’t too sure where she came up with the tunes she whistled or hummed, but they held a sense of comfort to her and did enjoy them.

As she went to pocket the item she had taken from the man, Zaly’s eyebrows furrowed when she realised that whatever she had taken didn’t feel like an ordinary item someone would carry. She glanced to her hand and frowned at the silver, slender device. There was something almost familiar about it, but it wasn’t until she pressed a button and almost dropped the device when it made a buzzing sound and the tip lit up blue did she realise as to why.

“Impossible,” Zaly breathed as she let the button go, her mind going back to the night her sister seemed utterly obsessed about. Although she didn’t remember much of that night, Zaly did remember the floppy haired Doctor and the strange device he had used to examine the crack in the wall of her and her sisters bedroom.

“Hey, wait!” a males voice called and Zaly glanced back to see the man she had bumped into looking directly at her, a blonde haired, young woman beside him. “That’s mine,” the man continued as he started walking towards Zaly.

Zaly's eyes widened when she glanced down at the sonic before looking back to the man. Her attention however was drawn to the soldier that she had tricked earlier when he looked to her. “Shit,” she muttered before taking off.

“No, wait!” the man called before following after her.

\----

A woman with long golden-brown hair and frowned as she glanced at her watch.

“Where are you?” she muttered to herself as she looked around the corner of the alley she was standing in and down the empty road that led to the Thames.

\----

Zaly cursed under her breath as she ducked around another corner as she tried to lose the man who was following her.

\----

A grin appeared on the brunette’s face when she spotted Zaly coming around a corner and pulled out her phone and dialled a number.

“She’s heading your way,” she said the moment the call connected.

 _“And the Doctor?”_ a voice on the other end asked.

\----

Just my luck, Zaly thought as she found herself on another empty street, knowing that losing the man tailing her had become even harder since everyone was down at the Thames as they tried to get a look at the spaceship.

She glanced back around the corner, only to quickly move off again when she realised the man was catching up. The red head wondered why she was running and not just giving the sonic back, but for whatever reason she didn’t as her grip on the device only tightened.

There was something vaguely familiar about the sonic, more than just what she had seen that night almost ten years ago and Zaly wanted to know why.

“Wait!” the man shouted as he rounded the corner.

\----

“Right behind her.”

 _“Then you know what to do,”_ the person on the other end said before hanging up.

The brunette put her phone away and pulled out a slender device and tapped it against her hand. She watched Zaly rush past the alley she was in before stepping out onto the street when she heard a crack that sounded like thunder.

“Excuse me, sir?” she called as the Doctor approached.

“Sorry, a little busy,” the Time Lord said as he made to pass the brunette, but she grabbed his arm, causing him to stop.

“You’re chasing that red head, right?” the brunette asked, looking to the street Zaly had disappeared down.

“Yeah, and I really don’t have time to chat,” the Doctor huffed as he tried to get the woman to let his arm go, but her grip was like iron.

“Doctor!” a females voice called before Rose appeared around the corner, looking and sounding out of breath, “Did you get it back?” she asked as she approached the pair.

“No, and I won’t if I keep getting interrupted,” the Doctor replied irritably, looking pointedly at the brunette.

The brunette just raised an eyebrow at the man before holding the slender device up. “Is this what you were after?”

The Doctor snatched the sonic from the brunette’s hand, looking it over. “Where did you get this?” he all but demanded as he looked back to the woman.

“Ah, so that was what you were after,” the brunette remarked, a small grin making its way on her lips as the Doctor just glared at her. Rolling her eyes, the woman continued as she let his arm go, “The red head dropped it and when I saw you chasing her, I figured that it might have been yours.”

The Doctor’s eyes narrowed on the brunette, not quite believing her.

“That was lucky,” Rose said as she looked to where Zaly had gone, “God's, she could run.”

“Well, I believe there was somewhere I needed to be,” the brunette remarked as she turned to leave. She paused and glanced back to the Doctor, “Oh, and Doctor. Hannibal had the right idea.”

Before the Doctor could respond, the brunette grinned and he froze when there was a flash of fangs before she disappeared back down the alleyway.

“Doctor?” Rose asked after a moment when she noticed the Time Lord was staring at the alley, his face pale, “Everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Vampire,” the Doctor corrected with a frown as he looked to the sun that was still high in the sky.

\----

The moment Zaly turned the corner, she suddenly disappeared with a crack the moment she saw the street was empty.

The red head was still uncertain as to how she could disappear like that, nor her other abilities. It hadn’t been until Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone had come out that she even knew she had any unusual abilities.

Zaly had gotten up to the part where Hermione, Ron and Harry had been in their first Charms class when everything around her had started floating. It had startled her at first, but with Mels support and help, she was able to do it at will. Her abilities had only grown from there, though it had only been the last year or more when she realised she could disappear and reappear as well.

When she reappeared, it was in a disused alleyway near her flat. Zaly lent against the wall as she caught her breath, trying to stop her stomach from emptying.

She may have learnt how to apparate, but was still getting use to the aftereffects.

“Stealing is wrong, you know?” a males voice with a thick Scottish accent said, causing Zaly’s head to shoot up, rather alarmed that someone may have seen her appear.

At the entrance to the alleyway stood an older man who was wearing a suit, looking at her with a raised bushy eyebrow and a smirk on his face.

“I....I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the red head managed to get out as she tried to calm her racing heart, cursing herself internally for how her voice wavered. She knew that she could manipulate the man’s memory if needed, but she really only used it as a last resort, preferring to talk her way out of situations.

“Really?” the man questioned, clearly not believing her. “Well then, I guess that device you are carrying must belong to you then?” he asked, nodding to the sonic in Zaly's hand.

She frowned, moving her hand behind her back. “Of course it does,” she said as she pushed herself away from the wall and straightened.

The man hummed as he eyed her before shrugging, “I must have been mistaken then,” he stated and Zaly relaxed ever so slightly, only to tense a moment later as he continued, “Because you see, I have a friend who has a device very similar to that,” he took a step towards Zaly, “In fact, you could say it looked exactly like that one.”

“Your friend must be wrong then,” Zaly frowned as she stepped away from the man.

The man paused, as if he was thinking over her words before his smirk returned. “That is a very low possibility,” he denied, “But maybe somehow....say by magic,” Zaly stiffened at the word, “You seem to have the exact same device, which I highly doubt, then I must come to the conclusion that my friend lost his and wasn’t pickpocketed down by the Thames.”

Zaly took another step away from the man. “I don’t know what you’ve been smoking, mate, but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she told him, trying to keep her voice level. She jumped in surprise when she felt the sonic being taken from her hand and spun on the spot, only to see the same grey haired man standing behind her with the sonic in his hand.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she glanced back to the man she had been talking with, only to blink in surprise when he was still there. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows flew up into her hairline when he smiled at her and waved, his fingers wiggling before he seemed to fade into nothingness.

“You’re not the only one who has a trick or two up their sleeve, Zaly Pond,” the man holding the screwdriver said, causing the red head to turn back to face him.

“Who are you and how do you know me?” she demanded, feeling a little out of her depth. She had never met another person who could do the things she could and was beginning to grow a little frightened at what it meant.

The man tapped the sonic against his chin as he smiled. “You could say that I've been watching you for a very long time, Zaly,” he explained, causing her to take a step away from him, “Just think of me as an old friend,” he added before walking passed her and out of the alley.

Zaly stood there for a moment, rather speechless and a little unsure as to what exactly had happened before she darted out of the alley when she heard the familiar crack of apparation. Though when she reached the street, the man was nowhere to be seen.

She swallowed heavily as she looked around the empty street before rushing towards the Powell Estate and her flat.

\----

The moment Zaly stepped inside her flat, she made sure to lock the door. Her heart was still beating quickly in her chest as she tried to work out exactly what had just happened.

A part of her wanted to see Mels, but the younger woman was still at Leadworth and Zaly knew that if she appeared there, Amelia would be asking her a million and one questions as to why she wasn’t at university.

As Zaly rested her forehead against the door, she couldn't help but think that it was times like this when she wished her sister knew about her and Mels, about her studying, and about her magic.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to tell Amelia about what she got up to. But Zaly also knew how demanding and annoying her little sister could become. She could remember how Amelia use to order Rory around, getting the poor guy to dress up as the Doctor....who she called the raggedy man.

That game would drive Zaly around the bend for two reasons. The first was because she found it rather stupid and also felt a little sorry for the way Amelia treated Rory.

The second....

Well, after she had woken up after the Doctor had, not that she had realised at the time, mentally gotten her to sleep, Zaly had grown confused as the whispers had seemed to have vanished along with the crack in their wall. But every time Rory and her sister would play that game, those whispers would always return.

After the first couple of times it had happened, Zaly had decided to spend more time with Mels and as the years went on, they grew closer. Zaly had no idea what her relationship with Mels was, however. They called each other partners, whether it be in crime, or just as close friends would. But Zaly really liked Mels and couldn’t see her life without her partner in it.

Mels had always been like a breath of fresh air that made Leadworth more liveable, but Zaly also knew that she wasn’t even eighteen and it stopped her from wanting to get even closer to her. It stopped her from wanting to pursue the seventeen year old.

Zaly banged her head against the door a few times, wondering why life seemed to be so bothersome at times before she sighed and headed off to her bedroom, feeling the need to shower after all the running she had done.

As she pulled out a fresh set of clothes from her closet and emptied the items she had taken earlier that day into the draw of her bedside table, Zaly headed to the shower, hoping it would also help calm her nerves and clear her mind, having noticed the faint whisperings had returned.

It was rare for them to do so, but over the last five or so years they had started to return. At first it was just a light buzzing sound, almost like the sound of static before they slowly returned to whispers.

Grabbing her clothes, Zaly disappeared into the bathroom.

\----

Turning the shower off, Zaly stepped out and grabbed her towel and dried herself before getting dressed, throwing her coat on when she was done.

She wrapped her hair up with the towel and stepped out of the bathroom, just as her mobile started ringing. Pulling it out of her coat pocket, Zaly smiled before accepting the call.

“What's you, stranger?” she asked.

 _“Good day to you too, Red,”_ Mels answered, _“Been watching the news and saw the spaceship. What happened?”_

“Supposedly a spaceship collided with Big Ben and then crashed into the Thames,” Zaly explained, “Though I didn’t get a good look at it, I did manage to turn the chaos into a gain for me.”

 _“Oh, really?”_ Mels asked and Zaly could almost see the smirk she knew was on her partners face.

“Of course I did,” Zaly said as she left her bedroom and headed towards the living room, “Couldn’t let an opportunity like that go to waste.”

The red head froze the moment she stepped inside her living room, seeing the man in the leather jacket standing by her coffee table, flicking through one of her old textbooks.

“Mels, I’m going to have to call you back,” she said quickly before hanging up.

The Doctor didn’t look up from the textbook as he spoke, “Zaly Kendra Pond. Grew up in Leadworth with her younger sister, Amelia. Showed early signs of disruptive behaviour and constantly got into trouble at school. However she also managed to pass every class with flying colours. Graduated college at the age of fourteen and started a double degree in both History and Computer Science soon afterwards. Moved away from Leadworth at the age of seventeen and finished university in record time at the age of nineteen,” he finally looked up from the book and to Zaly, “Though instead of getting a job like any normal human would, you turned to a life of crime.”

“What do you want?” she asked the man as he closed the book and placed it back on the coffee table.

The Doctor’s lip twitched upwards. “What I want to know is where you heard that tune you were whistling,” he stated. His interest in Zaly had been perked the moment he had heard the tune she had been whistling before stealing his sonic. It was one he had never heard on Earth before and it felt familiar to the Doctor, though he had been frustrated when he couldn’t work out why.

Zaly quirked an eyebrow at the man, “You tracked me down, and I am really interested to know how you did that since it should have been impossible, just to ask me where I heard a tune?” she questioned, unsure if what she had heard was the truth.

“Yep,” the Doctor replied with a grin.

She eyed the Doctor for a moment, finding that he was doing the same to her. “Who exactly are you?” she asked as she pulled the towel off her head to finish dying her hair. She made sure to keep the man in her sight as she did so, however, unable to pinpoint exactly what it was about the man, but he was giving off the feeling of being dangerous....but also not. It was an odd combination that intrigued Zaly.

“I’m called the Doctor.”

Zaly froze the moment she heard his name and swallowed heavily. “Just the Doctor?” she asked slowly as she lowered her hands with the towel, her posture turning guarded as her brown eyes darkened.

The last time she had met someone who used that name, they had managed to not only enter her mind, but had also knocked her out mentally. Whoever the floppy haired brunette and the woman, Tanith were, Zaly knew they had telepathic abilities similar to hers.

The Doctor's eyebrows creased at her reaction, finding it rather odd. He nodded, “Just the Doctor,” he confirmed before frowning, “Have we met before?” he asked, looking at her closely. Her reaction had definitely been one of recognition, but he couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone like her.

When he had returned to his TARDIS and tried to locate the mysterious vampire who had returned his sonic, his ship seemed to have other ideas and had given him information on Zaly instead. He had been annoyed at the beginning, not wanting to leave a possible threat on Earth, but after reading more about the red head, the Doctor had grown even more intrigued than what he had after hearing the tune she had been whistling.

“I doubt you'd know if we had met before,” Zaly commented, watching the Doctor warily, “And to answer you question, I have no idea where I heard it before. So, if you’ll excuse me, I have things I need to do. I’m sure you can find your own way out,” she told him before moving off to the kitchen.

She stopped short and paled the moment her eyes landed on a blue police box sitting in her dining room.

The Doctor watched her reaction curiously, though it was quick to turn to concern when he noticed her pale features. “Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to Zaly and resting a hand on her shoulder.

The moment she felt the Doctor’s hand, Zaly snapped from her shock and was quick to jerk away from him, causing the Doctor to raise his hands slightly, trying to convey that he wasn’t a threat. He couldn’t help but wonder why the red head was acting the way she was at the sight of his ship, more so when he got the distinct feeling that she had recognised it.

“No, no, no. This, this isn’t happening,” Zaly muttered to herself as the whispers started to grow louder and she looked between the Doctor and the TARDIS. “Yo-you can’t be here. No, no, you need to leave,” she told the Doctor as she shook her head, trying to keep the voices at bay, “This is all a bad dream,” she tried to convince herself before groaning as the voices just grew painfully louder And she closed her eyes.

“Zaly, you need to calm down,” the Doctor said in concern when he saw her beginning to panic and took a few cautious steps towards her, his arms still raised slightly. He wasn’t too sure what to do, however. He hadn’t expected the red head to act like this at the sight of his ship.

Zaly shook her head, only to groan once again as the action caused a flash of pain to pass through her mind. “No, no. Ju-just leave,” she told the Doctor as she looked at him, only to stumble backwards when she noticed he was closer.

She couldn’t stop her mind from going back to that night all those years ago and her breaths started to come out shallow and rapid. “You....please, just leave,” she managed to get out before whimpering in pain, hating how weak her voice sounded. She had sworn to herself that she never wanted to feel like this again.

“I can’t leave you while you’re in pain,” the Doctor shook his head, even though Zaly couldn’t see him, “Maybe I could help?”

“No,” Zaly replied, her voice strained, “Le-leave.”

“I can’t do th-"

“Leave!” Zaly's eyes snapped to the Doctor, who would had have noticed her eyes were no longer dark brown if it hadn’t been for the fact that he was almost thrown off his feet as a wave of energy exploded from Zaly.

When he regained his balance, the Doctor looked to Zaly in both disbelief and wonder, seeing her eyes were no longer dark brown, but a orange-yellow.

There was a low growl that came from the red head, along with a flash of sharp teeth and the ghost of a muzzle passing over her face, and the Doctor, although curious as to how this human seemed to hold unusual abilities, took her display for the warning it was and disappeared back into his ship, pausing only at the doorway to glance back at Zaly.

She watched him leave, her eyes burning holes into his ship until it dematerialized. It was only when the police box had disappeared completely did Zaly sink to the floor, her eyes changing back to their normal dark brown.

She clutched her head in agony as the voices seemed to explode after her outburst and when they reached a pitch that quickly became unbearable, Zaly screamed as another blast of energy burst from within her before she slumped to the floor unconscious.


	4. Three

“Doctor, what’s happening?!” Rose shouted as she clung to the TARDIS console as the ship jerked wildly.

“I don’t know!” the Doctor snapped as he tried to get his ship to follow his commands as it flew wildly through the vortex. He had just sent the TARDIS to a random location after dealing with the Slitheen’s earlier that day, but it seemed his ship had other ideas. “What are you doing?” he grumbled under his breath as he hit a lever.

The TARDIS landed softly, surprising the Doctor with how gentle it was, though the thought disappeared as he rushed around to the scanner, wondering where his ship had taken him. A small frown tugged at his lips at the date, but was confused as to why the ship wouldn’t tell him where he was. “Why would you take us back to yesterday?” he muttered as he changed the screen to show him what was outside the TARDIS.

“But, this is....” he trailed off as he recognised the room outside, “This is Zaly’s flat.”

“Doctor!” Rose’s alarmed voice had the Time Lord looking in her direction, “There’s someone here!”

“What?!” he exclaimed as he rushed around the console, only to freeze when he saw Rose kneeling beside a familiar red head. “Zaly?” he questioned, though he was quick to realise that she was unconscious and moved to kneel beside Rose and checked the red head over.

“Do you know her?” Rose asked, glancing at the Time Lord.

“Sort of,” he replied vaguely, checking his sonic before tucking the device away with a frown. He had actually planned on going back to see Zaly again, curious about the young woman and her outburst. The Doctor had been to so many planets and seen many different species, but what he had witnessed yesterday was something new, unknown and it confused and intrigued him.

“What do you mean, ‘sort of’?” Rose questioned as the Doctor carefully picked Zaly up.

“She stole my sonic,” he explained before heading towards the med bay, needing to confirm that what his sonic had told him was true.

Rose watched the Doctor leave, a small frown on her face. She knew that they hadn’t caught up to the red head yesterday and didn’t know how the Time Lord had known her name.

Her thoughts were broken and she let out a yelp when the TARDIS seemed to fly itself, heading back to the vortex.

\----

Zaly woke with a groan as her head felt like it was going to split in two. She opened her eyes, only to quickly close them again when the lights made her wince and eyes water, causing her head to hurt even more.

There was a soft hum through the air, causing Zaly to freeze on the bed as the lights dimmed. The red head slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting.

The moment the red head realised she was in some form of hospital room, she shot up on the bed, only to promptly lean over the side and throw up.

“Good one,” Zaly muttered to herself as she looked around the room, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. She missed the mess she had made vanish as her eyebrows furrowed, realising that the room she found herself in looked nothing like a normal hospital room.

She winced, closing her eyes as the pain in her head continued to grow. Taking a few deep breaths, Zaly concentrated on getting the pain to vanish, having learnt after multiple occurrences over the years how to block it out when the pain got to much. It hadn’t been the first time she had collapsed when the voices got too much, though she hoped, as always, it was the last.

A few minutes later, Zaly's eyes opened and she let out a sigh as the pain slowly vanished, the voices returning to a slight buzzing. “Now. Where am I?” she questioned aloud as she once again looked around. She slipped off the bed, frowning when she noticed that her previous mess had gone, though the moment her feet touched the ground, a shiver shot through her at cold floor.

“Uh....” Zaly trailed off, looking around after a pair of shoes appeared in front of her, along with a pair of socks. “Not weird at all,” she muttered as she tentatively reached down to touch the shoes, feeling that they were quite real. “Okay, then....” she murmured before putting them on, rather surprised that they fit her comfortably.

When she had finished lacing up the shoes, Zaly cautiously moved around the room, unsure as to what she should expect. She was delighted to find her jacket and was quick to throw it on before checking the pockets. Her whole body seemed to relax when her hand slipped around the familiar metal of her pistol, knowing she wasn’t unarmed in a place she didn’t know.

Even though the red head was technically never unarmed, the familiar weight of her pistol always calmed her. It was solid, something she could see and gave her a sense of security.

Zaly approached the only door in the room, her hand still in her pocket, hoping the door would lead to an exit. She jumped in surprise when the door slid open, her hand tightening around her pistol as she quickly looked out into the corridor.

Finding it empty, Zaly stepped into the corridor slowly as she looked up and down it, rather confused as to where she was. There were no signs to give away which way to go and she couldn’t help but wonder what type of hospital she had found herself in.

There was a hum that rung through the air, causing the red head to turn on the spot, drawing her weapon in the process as she tried to find where the noise had come from, only to find a trail of blinking arrows on the floor, leading away from where she was standing.

 _Yeah, that ain’t happening,_ she thought, turning around....only to have a trail of blinking arrows leading away from her. She glanced behind her and swallowed when she noticed the arrows were not there. Looking back to the arrows in front of her, Zaly couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on.

First she had run into a man who called himself the Doctor, then she had seen something she had been trying to forget ever since that Easter ten years earlier, and then to top it all off, she found herself in some strange medical room after collapsing. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up into bed, hoping that this was all some bad dream.

Deciding that standing there wasn’t going to get any answers, Zaly slowly made her way carefully down the corridor, her gun raised in front of her in case she came across anything else....unexpected. Her steps faulted when another hum rang through the air, though this time it sounded lower, almost giving off a feel of, disapproval?

She glanced behind her, eyebrows creasing slightly as she tried to work out where the sound was coming from, but once again saw nothing out of place. Shaking her head, Zaly continued, though she had only taken a few more steps when the hum sounded through the air again.

“Nothing more creepy then unknown noises in an abandoned hospital,” Zaly huffed, trying to shake off her unease as she continued on her way, ignoring the hums that continued as she did so.

After a few more twists and turns down the corridors, having given up trying to not follow the arrows when they just reappeared in front of her again, Zaly found herself before a set of large doors. She couldn’t help but feel a on edge as she looked around again, finding it rather strange that in such a large place, she hadn’t come across anyone. She knew she should have seen someone by now.

Turning her gaze back to the doors, Zaly wondered what she should do and blinked in surprise when there was now a word written on them.

“Now why would I be led to a library?” she asked no one, swallowing heavily when one of the doors creaked open a little as if to answer her.

Her hand around the gun trembled slightly as she took a step forwards, and she tightened her grip to try and stop it. Her heart was beating quickly in her chest as she nudged the door open further and she stepped inside.

The tight grip she had on her weapon grew slack as she stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. “Impossible,” she breathed, her voice barely louder than a whisper as she stared at the impossible sight before her.

_“Just had a fall. All the way down there, right into the library.”_

_“Hell of a climb back up,” Tanith added._

_“But you're soaking wet,” Zaly pointed out._

_“We were in the swimming pool,” the Doctor said._

_“You said you were in the library,” Zaly continued, raising an eyebrow at the man. She couldn’t see how a swimming pool could fit inside the box, let alone a swimming pool and a library._

_“So was the swimming pool,” the Doctor shot back, Z._

Zaly’s gun slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a clatter in her shock as she slowly backed out of the room, not wanting to believe what she had seen. “This can’t be right,” she muttered, her breaths starting to come out short and quick as her eyes darted around the corridor.

She looked back to the door and shook her head. “No, no, no, no, no!” her voice grew into a shout as she clutched her head as the whispers started again before she took off down the corridor.

\----

Corridor after corridor, Zaly ran. She didn’t know where she was going, nor did she care. All she wanted was to get out.

There was a reason she tried to forget that day, that box, and the odd pair. Anytime she thought about it, the voices would always get louder and it was getting harder to keep them out.

The red head skidded to a halt when she came to a split in the corridor, not sure which way to go.

“This can’t be happening,” she told herself as she frantically looked down the two corridors that branched off from the one she was in. “It was just a story, a dream,” she continued as she shook her head, trying to block out the voices before running down the left corridor.

Her eyes widened when she saw an open room ahead and pushed herself to go faster.

Zaly burst into the console room, only to pause at the sight before her. “Whoa,” she breathed as she looked around, unknowingly walking further in.

Her gaze landed on the console as she slowly approached it, feeling somewhat drawn to it. It, like the Doctor's sonic sparked a feeling of familiarity, like she had seen it before.

 _“Now today, you’re gonna learn how to pilot,”_ a clear, feminine voice cut through the whispers and Zaly winced, a hand flying up to her head as she took a step away from the console with a frown.

 _That_ had never happened before.

Her gaze swept around the room, wanting to leave and when they landed on a door, this one looking very familiar and she wasted no time running over to it. Her hand went to open it, only to freeze when she could hear voices on the other side.

 _“....end of it, the Time War?”_ a females voice asked.

 _“I’m the only one left. I win. How about that?”_ she heard the Doctor reply and her eyebrows creased in confusion.

 _“The Dalek survived,”_ Zaly’s body tensed and her blood ran cold at the name, though she wasn’t sure why. _“Maybe some of your people did too,”_ the females voice continued.

Zaly winced as the voices suddenly grew louder and her hand dropped from the door as she took a few steps back, only to stumble when images flashed across her mind. The voices grew and she dropped to her knees in agony, her eyes clenching shut.

 _“These are Dalek’s from the planet Skaro,”_ an unknown female voice explained and an image of a large pepper pot looking creature appeared, _“They’re beings that no nothing but murder and hate. They were created by a scientist named Davros near the end of a thousand-year war that was between his people the Kaleds and their enemy the Thals.”_

Pictures of a war flashed through Zaly's mind and she let out a whimper as another sharp pain lanced through her head.

_“Davros used some of his own people to experiment on. They had been badly injured and mutated by the nuclear war and he genetically modified them with the tank-like robotic shell, removing every emotion apart from their hate. But in doing so, he created a race that believed themselves to be the supreme race in the universe. They came to believe that as they were superior, it was their only goal to purge the universe of non-Dalek life.”_

Zaly whimpered as she shook her head. “No, just make it stop,” she whispered.

 _“They’re an extremely aggressive race and driven by an instinct to attack....the point where they attack unarmed....”_ the voice changed to one Zaly barely recognised, _“Come back, Zaly. Come on. Fight it,”_ it then changed back to the unknown woman’s, _“Impossible to negotiate or reason with....dangerous and not to be underestimated,”_ the voice changed once again, _“Come on Zaly. Come back to me.”_

\----

Zaly's eyes snapped open, but before the Doctor could sigh in relief, he frowned as gold particles past over her eyes.

“Doctor?” the red head frowned as she shook her head. Her eyes grew wide when she remembered what had happened and she was quick to back away from the man.

“Zaly, it's okay,” the Doctor said quietly as he slowly raised his hands. Her fearful gaze darted around the console room and he knew he had to try and calm her somehow, remembering what had happened the last time she had reacted like this. Though he was still confused as to what he had seen and experienced.

There was also the voice he had heard in Zaly's mind. Just like the tune he had heard her whistling, there was something familiar about it, he just couldn’t place what. It was frustrating him as to how much of a mystery the red head before him was becoming.

“Wha-what's happening to me?” Zaly's voice broke the Doctor from his thoughts and he found her watching him.

“I don’t know,” he admitted slowly as he begun to lower his hands and took a step forwards, “But I can help you figure thi-"

The Doctor froze on the spot, his hands raising the moment Zaly pulled a gun from one of her jacket pockets. He was quick to notice that it was only a stun gun and his eyebrows creased, wondering how she had it. He had searched her jacket for any weapons, not wanting any aboard his ship. And he was certain that the pocket she had pulled it from was far too small to conceal the weapon in the first place.

He _was_ rather grateful that he had gotten Rose and Adam to leave the console room the moment he had seen Zaly. Her erratic behaviour he had witnessed earlier made him a little wary about her and didn’t want to put his companion or Adam at risk....though the Doctor was still questioning why he had allowed Adam on board.

“Don’t!” Zaly snapped and the Doctor nodded, taking a step away from her. “I-I don’t know what you did to me, but I want you to stop it,” she demanded.

The Doctor frowned, a little unsure as to what she was talking about. Apart from bringing her back from whatever trance or state he had found her in, he hadn’t done anything.

“I haven’t done anything to you,” he stated carefully before motioning to the stun gun, “And can you put that down?”

Zaly shook her head, wincing when she realised it was the wrong thing to do as another sharp pain shot through her mind and she closed her eyes as she tried to block the voices out. They snapped back open when she heard movement in front of her and took a step back from the Doctor.

“Just don’t....just....,” Zaly shook her head again and she let go of the gun with one hand, pressing the palm of the other to her temple as her eyes closed again in pain.

The Doctor watched her with concern, wondering if whatever was happening to her, harming her was because of him and his ship. He took a cautious step towards her when an idea as to what could be happening, though he was unsure as to how.

“Zaly, I just want to help you. Whatever is happening to you, it’s happening inside you head. I don’t know how, or even why it is, but its burning up your mind and if it doesn’t stop, it will overwhelm you and you will die,” he explained quietly as he took another cautious step towards her.

“No. No,” Zaly muttered as she tried to gather her thoughts through her pain, “You....the Doctor. He was there....the crack....the voices. Always the voices....they never leave when....the-" she cried out as she stumbled backwards, coming to a stop when her back hit the console, “They hurt....they always....never stop,” she whimpered.

The Doctor took a few steps towards Zaly in concern, though he stopped when she looked to him. Even though he was very concerned for the red heads safety, he was wary about the weapon she was holding.

He cursed silently under his breath when his companions voice called.

“Doctor!” Rose entered the console room, “I was showing Adam the library and we found a gu....” she trailed off when she took in the scene before her.

“No!” the Doctor shouted when Zaly aimed her stun gun at Rose and moved to step in her line of sight, drawing her attention back to him. Stun gun or not, he wasn’t anyone to get hurt and he tell Zaly was terrified right now. “You need to leave,” he told his companion.

“But, Doct-"

“Rose, I’ve got this under control,” the Doctor told the blonde as he took a step towards Zaly.

The red head groaned as she tried to keep the pair in her eyesight, but her vision was starting to swim and she slumped against the console, using it to hold her upright.

Rose huffed at the Doctor, but listened to his instruction and left, but not before shooting Zaly a glare. The red head didn’t notice, though.

“Zaly, I only want to help,” the Doctor said, drawing her attention and she looked to him. The Time Lord wasn’t sure how much longer she was going to stay conscious, and he was really worried as to how pale she now looked.

“No....they....she,” Zaly tried to speak, but the pain was becoming to much, “Tanith....she, she told me he....he could help.” She gasped in pain, dropping the stun gun as she clutched at her hair, missing the Doctor freeze at her words.

 _Impossible,_ the Time Lord thought, not believe what she had said, _But...._

“Who Zaly?” he questioned as he approached her, probably a little quicker than he had intended, but he didn’t have time. “Who was supposed to help you?” he as asked as he knelt beside her and lifted her head.

“It hurts so much,” Zaly whimpered as tears fell down her face.

“Zaly, I need you to tell me who was supposed to help you,” the Doctor told her softly, “I can’t help you if I don’t know.”

Zaly managed to opened her eyes through her pain as she looked at the Time Lord. “The Doctor,” she whispered before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed in his arms.

\----

Hours later saw the Doctor pacing in front of Zaly's bed in the med bay, his gaze being continuously drawn to the unconscious red head.

After Zaly had collapsed, he had immediately slipped into her mind, needing to see what was happening to her. Though he had stopped short the moment he came across a wall in her mind that was suppressing what he guessed to be memories.

The wall had started to deteriorate, however, and was the reason behind her collapse. But what had startled the Doctor the most was what he had found when he had tried to repair it.

He had, or will have placed a wall in Zaly's mind sometime in the past. But the question was; Why?

But then that also brought up another question. The name Zaly had spoken. He knew it should have been impossible, or even just a coincidence that the red head knew someone named Tanith. But there was only _one_ Tanith the Doctor knew. Only one who would recommend him for help.

But Tanith had been lost, along with her mother centuries ago. Long before the Time War.

That name did provide answers, though. It gave the Doctor the answer as to why the tune Zaly had been whispering seemed so familiar to him. It was the same answer that belonged to the voice he had heard when he had brought Zaly back from whatever trance-like state he had found her in.

But that answer only led to a dead end. How Zaly Pond knew Serenity and her daughter Tanith was locked away in her mind. It should have been impossible in the first place, but what baffled the Time Lord even more was the memory he had encountered earlier was of one where Serenity was _teaching_ Zaly about the Daleks.

It was so unlike what the Doctor remembered of the Time Lady.

There were only four people the Doctor knew Serenity cared for. The first two were himself and the Master, being that the Master was her older brother and the Doctor, his best friend. Then there was Serenity's husband, whom the Doctor has never met, though he did believe the Master had once or twice.

Lastly was her daughter, Tanith.

From what the Doctor had heard about Tanith, she was as smart as her mother, but was also a little spitfire that had managed to get everyone who met her wrapped around her little finger.

The Doctor exhaled heavily, rather irritated as he collapsed into the chair beside Zaly's bed. He knew that he couldn’t ask Zaly who these people were without the high possibility of those memories slipping through the wall, even with it restored and causing her mind to burn up again.

It was bad enough that it had happened twice in one day. A third time and it could kill her, and the Doctor was not going to let that happen.

\----

“Oh, that’s the last time I let Mels talk me into drinks before bed,” Zaly muttered as she slowly sat up, rubbing a hand over her face sluggishly, trying to wake up.

“How are you feeling?” a voice asked and the red head froze before she closed her eyes again and laid back down.

“Nope, still dreaming,” she told herself, “Need more sleep.”

“Zaly, this isn’t a dream,” the Doctor remarked and she just rolled over and stared at him.

“I know this isn’t real, because otherwise I’d have thrown up already, accompanied by a killer head and voices that never seem to leave. Since I only feel hungover and it is blissfully silent, I must be dreaming,” she told him sarcastically.

“I rebuilt the wall in your mind. It should keep the voices out for a few years before it needs to be checked,” the Time Lord explained, cocking an eyebrow at her as he waited for her to say something. When she didn’t, he grinned.

Zaly rolled her eyes at his grin and turned away from him, pulling the blanket up to cover her head as well.

The Doctor shook his head at her actions before he stood up. “You’ve met me before, haven’t you?” he asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Nope,” Zaly sighed as she pushed the blanket off her and sat up, realising the Doctor wasn’t going to leave her alone. When she recognised the room she was in, Zaly closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as she muttered to herself, “This is all a bad dream. I’m gonna wake up and find myself at home.”

“Ow!” she screeched, her eyes flying open to glare at the Doctor l, rubbing her arm where he had pinched her in the process, “What the fuck was that?!” she exclaimed.

“Well, doesn’t look like you’re dreaming,” the Doctor said, ignoring her expression.

“Of course it is,” she snapped as she glared daggers at the Doctor, “This was just some bullshit story my sister came up with and I finally snapped. Won’t she be happy to hear about it? Though she always tells me I’m bound to go crazy one day, so why not today.”

The Doctor just raised an amused eyebrow. “So, you think this is a story? Just some dream?” he asked.

Zaly glared at him and scowled when she noticed his amusement. “Oh, yeah. Just laugh it up, mister,” she replied, her tone thick with sarcasm, “There’s no way this is real. How else would you explain a time travelling, spaceship that is shaped like a 1960’s police box that, for whatever reason, has a bloody swimming pool in its library?” she asked and the Doctor's eyebrows furrowed, “It's just a stupid dream.”

“So that was were she put it,” the Doctor murmured before pulling something out of his jacket, “So that would be why my companion found this in the library, then?” he asked louder, showing Zaly her pistol.

The red head was quick to get off the bed and try and grab it, but the Doctor was quicker, pocketing the pistol and taking a step away from her.

“Oh, no. You’re not getting them back until you leave my ship. Weapons are not allowed on board.”

Zaly frowned at him for a moment before she shrugged. “Okay, then. Let’s go. You can drop me off home,” she looked around the room, her eyebrow raising slightly, “From wherever the hell this is, and be on your merry way with you fantastic travels in time,” she said in a cheerily tone, loaded in sarcasm before she headed out of the med bay.

The Doctor couldn’t help but grin as he watched her leave, wondering what she would think when she stepped out of the TARDIS doors. He hadn’t planned on taking her home yet and had no intentions to....just yet. He had questions he needed answers, and he knew that Zaly Pond was the only one who could give them to him.

He checked his pocket that held her two weapons, making sure that they were both there and unable to be taken by the crafty woman before following after the red head.


	5. Four

Zaly held onto the console as she watched the Doctor fly his ship back to her home. She was getting a small sinking feeling in her gut that he was up to something though as he hadn’t stopped grinning since they had left the medical room.

 _And people thought I was crazy,_ she thought as her eyes narrowed on the Doctor.

Rose and Adam, whom she had been introduced to (not that Zaly really cared) held onto the console as well. The blonde was rather glad that the Doctor was dropping the red head off home. She hadn’t liked how he had seemed more focused on Zaly than herself and it took the TARDIS being drawn off course for them to have even gone anywhere since she had arrived.

Rose couldn’t also help but think that Zaly was dangerous as well. _Who the hell carries two guns?_ she thought. She just wanted the red head gone so they could go back to travelling.

The Doctor noticed Zaly watching him and he just continued to grin before pulling a lever. The TARDIS stopped shaking as it landed and the Doctor stuck his hands into his pockets as he stepped away from the console.

“There we are then,” he nodded towards the door, “We’ve landed.”

The red head just stared at the Doctor for a moment before she rushed to the doors. “About bloody time,” she muttered as she opened the door and stepped outside....on to stop the moment she realised she was _not_ at home.

In fact, as Zaly looked around, she found herself in some futuristic looking building that seemed to be some news studio. “I’m gonna kill him,” she said, but her words did nothing to stop her from walking forwards as her curiosity got the better of her.

She knew that she should be mad with the Doctor, she _was_ mad with him. But this....this was like dropping a kid in a candy store and telling them they could have whatever they wanted.

\----

Back inside the TARDIS, the Doctor's grin turned into a smirk as he watched Zaly on the scanner.

“So, where are we off to?” Rose asked him and he was quick to turn the scanner off when she tried to see what was on it.

“We’re already here,” he told her as he headed for the doors.

“I thought you were dropping her at home,” Rose stated, causing the Time Lord to pause, “Not taking her along with us.”

“And why not?” the Doctor asked with a frown as he turned towards her, “This is my ship and it is my decision as to who stays and who goes. Or have you forgotten?” he glanced at Adam before back to Rose, “Now, are you coming or not?”

Without waiting for a response, he headed out the door. The grin that had been on his face earlier returned when he noticed Zaly checking over a few screens before slipping through a gate.

“Knew it,” he muttered as Rose stepped outside.

“Knew what?” she asked, looking around and noticing that Zaly wasn’t there.

“It’s the year two hundred thousand,” the Doctor replied, “And it’s a spaceship,” he frowned slightly, “No, wait a minute, space station, and er, go and try this gate over there. Off you go,” he told his companion before heading to said gate.

It had been the same one Zaly had slipped through and he wanted to see what Zaly thought about all this being a dream now. He also didn’t want to watch Rose try and flirt with someone.

 _Humans,_ he thought with an eye roll as he walked through the gate, finding Zaly staring transfixed at the view of the Earth.

“This isn’t a dream, is it?” the red head questioned when the Doctor stopped beside her.

“Nope,” he replied, glancing at her, wondering if he may have over done it a little.

“My sister use to make up stories,” Zaly begun and glanced at him, but quickly looked away when she saw he was watching her. “I always thought she was just making them up,” her eyebrows creased, “I wanted to believe she was making them up, cause then I could try and forget them.”

Zaly sighed, “It was easy at first as I don’t actually remember much of what occurred that night. But I do remember meeting a man who called himself the Doctor, and-"

“Zaly,” the Doctor cut her off, causing the red head to look to him in confusion. He frowned as he looked back to the view. As much as he wanted answers, how tempting it was to learn more about who Zaly was, he knew this wasn’t the way. “Time travel’s a tricky thing. Sometimes people don’t meet in the right order and as....tempting it is to learn of one’s future, it is also dangerous.”

Zaly frowned as she followed his gaze back to the view of Earth. Her eyebrows creased as she tried to figure out what he was telling her.

_“Believe me, Doc,” Tanith remarked, “I really want a banana. Still have that last one from Villengard?” she rummaged through the mans tattered pockets as she continued to ramble, “Really should go back there sometime soon. I heard that the grove really caused the planet to do a complete one-eighty. Went into the produce market after you blew the weapons factory up. Don’t think they ever realised how fertile the soil was.” Coming up empty in her search, Tanith sighed in disappointment, “Of all the times to misplace a banana.”_

_“I wonder if it fell in the pool,” the Doctor thought out loud and the pair glanced down into the box. “Whoa. Look at that,” he exclaimed when he noticed the state his ship was in._

_“She’s really gonna hate us for this,” Tanith muttered with a shake of her head before looking to the Doctor, “Guess that answers the question of what happens when two of us regenerate after holding it off for so long.”_

_The Doctor brushed some of Tanith’s hair out of her face. “I’m sorry, Tanith. I know-"_

_He was cut off when Tanith placed a finger over his lips. “Doc, if you even try taking all the blame for this, I will throw you back into that pool myself.”_

Zaly's eyes widened when it hit her. “That was you,” she breathed, looking back to the Doctor.

The Doctor nodded, “I realised it when I first tried to rebuild the wall in your mind. Everyone’s mental presence feels different and I recognised it as mine as soon as I found it,” he told her.

Zaly's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “But how? You looked so diff-"

“And this is,” Rose’s voice cut her off and the Doctor turned away, “I’ll let the Doctor describe it.”

The red head frowned as she watched the Doctor explain what they were seeing, “The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, planet Earth at its height. Covered in mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle.”

The was a thud as Adam fainted, though neither Rose or the Doctor looked back. Zaly was still watching the Doctor before she shook her head and looked back out to the view, deciding to think on it later.

She had no idea how the Doctor could change body's, but she was curious to find out.

“He’s your boyfriend,” the Doctor told Rose.

“Not anymore,” Rose replied.

\----

“Come on, Adam. Open your mind,” the Doctor told the younger man and Zaly rolled her eyes.

The American had done nothing but complain since he had woken up and Zaly was ready to shoot him. Which gun she’d use was still undecided, but the red head was already sick of the idiot.

“You’re gonna like this,” the Doctor continued, “Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, arts, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners-"

“Out of the way!” a man snapped as he pushed passed Zaly, who scowled at his retreating form as the place came alive. People started opening up food vending stations and serving customers.

“That’s good manners?” the red head questioned in disgust as she brushed off her coat sleeve, double checking her pockets in case anything had been taken.

“Thank you very much indeed. Somebody there?” a chef questioned as he continued to serve some customers, “That’s great. What do you want, love? All right, keep moving. I’ll be with you lot in a minute. Here you are. One at a time....”

Zaly tuned the man out as she looked around, her nose wrinkling in disgust as it took in the scents of the supposedly ‘fine cuisine' being served. It looked even worse then the processed fast food she avoided back home.

“Fine cuisine?” Rose asked the Doctor, voicing Zaly's thought.

“My watch must be wrong,” the Doctor remarked as he looked around with a frown before glancing at his wrist, only to grow confused, “No, it’s fine. It’s weird.”

“You’re weird,” Zaly muttered as she started to head off, wanting to check the place out a bit more. She couldn’t help but think that it hadn’t been the first time the Doctor had gotten something wrong.

How many times Amelia had reminded her of the Doctor's promise of five minutes. It had been the longest five minutes she had ever experienced. So far it had been a ten year long, five minutes and a small part of her couldn’t help but wonder if the Doctor she had first met was ever going to return.

“Oh, no you don’t,” the Doctor's voice broke through Zaly’s thoughts as he grabbed her arm. She turned to the Time Lord, her other hand going instinctively to where she normally kept her gun.

She scowled when she realised the Doctor still had her weapons and pulled her arm from his grip. “What was that for?” she snapped, trying to not show how uncomfortable she felt without her physical weapons.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow, not having missed her reaction. It made him a little curious as to why she always seemed so jumpy, like she was expecting enemies at ever turn. Even he wasn’t that jumpy and he _did_ have enemies that seemed to always want to show up at every turn.

“I’m not having you run around here on your own,” he told her, “The last time I saw you in a crowd, you stole my sonic, and that’s not even mentioning what else you could have taken.”

“What? Are you some kind of babysitter?” the red head snarked as she crossed her arms against her chest, raising an eyebrow of her own.

“Do I need to be?” the Doctor questioned in response and Zaly’s scowl darkened when she heard Rose snicker from behind the Doctor.

“For now, you’re staying with me,” the Doctor continued as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “Until I know you can stay out of trouble and _not_ be tempted to steal anything.”

Zaly muttered angrily under her breath in a few different languages, causing the Doctor’s eyebrow to raise once again, though it fell when he noticed the red head smirk before she started muttering someone in what he believed to be....Latin?

“Fine,” Zaly begrudgingly agreed, causing the Doctor to frown, wondering why she had changed her mind. He had expected at least an argument, but not this.

The air around him shifted and the smirk that had been on the red heads face returned. He nodded, not knowing what had happened before leading the three humans towards a cashpoint. “Now, we need to get some money,” he explained, “Let's us use a cashpoint.”

Zaly watched curiously as the Doctor waved his sonic at the cashpoint. She was still very intrigued by his screwdriver, though her attention was diverted when the machine produced a plastic card, to which the Time Lord handed to Adam.

“There you go, pocket money,” the Doctor told the young man, “Don’t spend it all on sweets.”

“How does it work?” Adam asked as he looked at the plastic card.

“Go and find out. Stop nagging me,” the Doctor said, shooting a half-hearted glare at Zaly when he swore he heard her mutter ‘babysitter'.

He looked back to Adam and sighed, “The thing is, Adam, time travel’s like visiting Paris. You can’t just read The guide book, you’ve got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers,” the Time Lord paused, “Or is that just me? Stop asking questions, go and do it. Off you go, then,” he pushed both Adam and Rose away, “Your first date.”

“You’re going to get a smack, you are,” Rose threatened the Doctor as she left with Adam.

“Just to let you know, Doc. You and me have completely different ideas when it comes to Paris,” Zaly spoke up after the pair left.

“Oh, really?” the Doctor asked as he led Zaly away.

Zaly smirked, “Oh, really,” she told him before raising an eyebrow at the Doctor, “And I swore you just told me not to steal anything. I’m not sure exactly what you did with that cashpoint back there, but I do believe it was considered stealing.”

The Doctor grinned, “Well, like you just said, I told _you_ not to steal,” he replied as they approached two smartly dressed women.

\----

“Er, this is going to sound daft, but can you tell us where we are?” the Doctor asked the two women.

“Floor One-Three-Nine. Could they write it any bigger,” one of the women said, pointing to a large sign that had the numbers written on it.

“Well, actually-" Zaly started to say before the Doctor dropped his arm from around her shoulders and poked her side, getting her to stop.

“Floor One-Three-Nine of what?” the Doctor questioned, ignoring the red heads glare.

“Must’ve been one hell of a party,” the woman replied.

“You’re on Satellite Five,” the other woman told them.

“What’s Satellite Five?” Zaly asked, looking between the two women. The former seemed rather stuck up and was giving of an air of annoyance at their questions, which really didn’t bother the red head. But the latter confused Zaly a bit. She seemed timid, but looked to be able to hold herself well.

“Come on, how could you get on board without knowing where you are?” the stuck up one said.

“Look at him,” Zaly spoke up, pointing to the Doctor, “He’s stupid and can’t handle his alcohol. Found him on floor One-Three-Seven wandering around like a lost puppy. Currently trying to find his owner,” she said, causing the more timid woman to have to fight back her laughter.

“Hey!” the Doctor exclaimed indignantly as he glared at Zaly, who only smirked in response.

 _Two can play at this,_ the red head thought to herself.

“Hold on, wait a minute,” the timid one said as she looked between the Doctor and Zaly, the latter winking at her, “Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?”

The Doctor stopped glaring at Zaly as he turned and grinned at the two women, “You got us. Well done,” he told them as he pulled out a black wallet, “You’re too clever for us,” he continued as he showed the wallet to the pair.

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the wallet, noticing that what ever it said seemed to be something important as the stuck up one seemed to brighten and smile. The red head made to grab the wallet as the Doctor put it away, but was stopped when the Doctor grabbed her wrist, none to gently either.

“We were warned about this in basic training,” the timid one told them, pretending not to have seen the Doctor grabbing Zaly's wrist, nor the glare they both shot each other, “All workers have to be versed in company promotion.”

“Right, fire away, ask your questions,” the stuck up one said as she straightened, “If it gets me to Floor Five hundred, I’ll do anything.”

Zaly paused in her struggle to get out of the Doctor's grip when she heard that, her curiosity perked. “What happens on Floor Five hundred?” she questioned, rather curious as to why the stuck up one seemed so interested to get there.

“The walls are made of gold,” she replied, looking down her nose at Zaly before turning to the Doctor with a smile, “And you should know, Mister Management. So, this is what we do,” she continued as she moved over to a wall monitor.

Zaly glanced at the timid one and raised an eyebrow, wondering what was up with the stuck up cow, but the woman just shook her head with an amused smile before following.

“You and I are going to have a little talk after this,” the Doctor whispered to Zaly before pulling her along to follow the two women.

Zaly rolled her eyes at the Time Lord. “Don’t know what your problem is. I just wanted to go home, not be babysat like some bloody kid,” she muttered.

“Oh, don’t you worry. As soon as we’re done here, you’re going,” the Doctor told her quietly before nodding at the women with a grin, not having listened to a word either had said.

“I get it. You broadcast the news,” he stated. It really hadn’t been that hard to see, seeing that there were monitors everywhere showing hundreds of different news channels.

“We are the news,” the stuck up one told him, “We’re the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. Six hundred channels. All coming out of Satellite Five, broadcasting everywhere. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going through us.”

“And I thought the security back home was too much,” Zaly murmured under her breath as she tried to figure a way out of the Doctor's grip to go exploring.

Investigating his way was rather boring and she wanted to see some sights, not listen to a stuck up cow try and get a promotion.

\----

Zaly sighed as she reluctantly followed the Doctor, though she’d protest that she didn’t have a choice since he still hadn’t let go of her wrist.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have called you stupid and I’m sure you can handle alcohol very well,” she told the Tike Lord, who barely glanced at her.

She sighed as another alarm went off and everyone started collecting their things and the floor started to empty once again.

“Oi! Mutt and Jeff! Over here!” the Doctor shouted and Zaly snickered at the names, earning a raised eyebrow from the Doctor, the first positive response since her comment earlier.

“Really don’t think they’d get the reference, Doc. Though....” Zaly trailed off as she looked to Rose and Adam as they walked over, taking notice of Adam pocketing a phone looking a little suspicious as he did so, “Which one is Jeff?” she continued, looking back at the Time Lord, “Because I’m taking bets on Adam being Mutt.”

“Oh?” the Doctor asked before the pair reached them.

“Ten pounds and you tell me whatever that paper was you used if I’m right,” Zaly told the Doctor with a smirk.

“What’s going on?” Rose asked, not liking how close Zaly was to the Doctor as well as curious as to why the Time Lord was holding Zaly's wrist.

The Doctor frowned at Zaly, not too sure what to make of the woman. She was also the last person he wanted to make a deal with.

“Sorry,” he told the red head, “But I don’t have ten pounds,” he added.

Rose looked between the two with a frown. She glanced at Adam and he shrugged, unsure himself.

Zaly raised an eyebrow, “And you think I do?” she asked the Doctor.

The Doctor shot her a look before sighing, realising that she was most likely telling him the truth.

What he had found on Zaly wasn’t much except for a small list of petty crimes from when she was a teenager. There also wasn’t any history of work or anything else as well. No drivers licence or any form of identification or record on any government agency. It was as if she had just disappeared off anyone’s records.

He had only found her address as it was hidden in some files for her sister under an emergency contact, but even then it had been a lucky find as there was no name attached to it.

“Come on,” he told the trio before walking off with Zaly, still not wanting her to be out of his sight. If there was something going on here, the Doctor didn’t want her disappearing on him. There was no telling what sort of trouble she’d get up to.

Zaly couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she was dragged along, though she was drawn to the people seated at an octagonal desk that surrounded a central chair where she guessed the stuck up woman sat as it was still empty.

 _Someone thinks them self important,_ she mused as she watched curiously, wondering what they were going to do. She couldn’t help be interested in what she was seeing. There had always been something about technology that caught her eye.

“Now, everybody behave. We have a management inspection,” the stuck up one spoke before looking to the Doctor, “How do you want it, by the book?” she questioned.

The Doctor nodded, “Right from scratch, thanks,” he replied with a grin.

Zaly smirked as she leant close to the Doctor, “You know she’s only flirting because she wants that promotion, right?” she whispered.

The Doctor rolled his eyes before shushing her, even though he was thinking the same thing. He didn’t really care how the woman acted if it led to figuring out what was wrong here.

“Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot, my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. That’s Cathica with a ‘C', in case you want to write to Floor Five Hundred praising me, and please do,” Cathica told the Doctor, who merely nodded with a grin.

“Told you,” Zaly couldn’t help but whisper to the Time Lord, earning herself a nudge in the side from the Doctor and a glare from Rose.

“Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That company policy,” Cathica continued.

“Actually, it’s the law,” the timid one from before cut in, earning herself a glare from Cathica.

“Yes, thank you, Suki,” Cathica snapped before looking to the others, “Okay, keep it calm. Don’t show off for the guests,” Zaly snickered, but quickly stopped when she noticed both the Doctor and Rose watching her, “Here we go,” Cathica continued before sitting in the central chair, “And engage safety.”

Zaly watched on curiously as the seven people seated around Cathica held their palms over a palm-print on the tables in front of them. Lights started to come on around the room and Zaly's jaw dropped when Cathica clicked her fingers and a small opening opened in her forehead as the seven placed their hands on the palm-prints.

“And three, two, and spike,” Cathica said and a beam of light shone into the hole in her forehead.

“What is that?” Zaly asked the Doctor, though she didn’t take her eyes away from Cathica. She didn’t even notice when the Doctor let her wrist go as he explained.

“Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head,” the Doctor started walking around the desk, Rose and Adam following.

Zaly however, stayed put, unable to tear her eyes away from what she was seeing.

“She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer,” he finished as he came back around to where Zaly was standing. He raised an eyebrow at the red head, noticing her calculated gaze as she watched Cathica.

“If it all goes through her, she must be a genius,” Rose said in awe.

“It’s not viable,” Zaly spoke up, though she didn’t look at them as her gaze went to the people around Cathica, “The human brain is too small to be able to process and keep all that information. There is no way she’d remember any of it. Her brain would work like a processor. As soon as the connection is broken, she wouldn’t retain any of the information less her head explode.”

The Doctor looked to Zaly impressed. It wasn’t very often he came across someone who was able to just look at what was happening around them from a period more advance from their original time period and understand it.

“And what about the people round the edge?” Rose asked the Doctor, shooting a glare at Zaly. She really wasn’t liking the red head and just wished the Doctor would have just taken her home.

“They’ve all got tiny chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels,” the Doctor said as he turned away from Zaly to watch the process, “Every single fact the Empire beams out of this place. Now that’s what I call power.”

Zaly furrowed her brows, seeing one big flaw in the system. Six hundred channels worth of news was a tremendous amount and there was no way that any of the people currently streaming this information knew exactly what they were processing.

She glanced at the Doctor and his two companions before slipping away. There was something she needed to check up on and she hoped she was wrong.


	6. Five

Zaly had been walking around for a bit, trying not to look suspicious as she searched for an unmanned computer.

 _’Promotion,’_ a tannoy announced, causing the red head to pause as she wondered if the stuck up woman, Cathica had gotten her wish. _’Promotion for, Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to Floor Five Hundred,’_ the tannoy continued.

“Okay, wasn’t expecting that,” Zaly muttered to herself as she continued on her way. She wasn’t sure how Suki had gotten a promotion.

“Something is definitely going on here,” the red head muttered as she found herself back at the TARDIS. She glanced at the box, wondering if it had a computer or something that might help her hack into the stations computers, but quickly dismissed the thought.

Zaly was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the story that her sister seemed to be obsessed over was true.

She was just about to continue on with finding a computer when someone who was acting more suspicious than she was caught her eye.

“Where's Mutt off to?” she questioned as she followed after Adam, not seeing Rose with him.

She kept back and watched as he approached a vertical console and rested his palm on the palm-print scanner.

“Give me access,” the American demanded, though except for the console lighting up, nothing else happened.

 _Looks like I was right,_ Zaly thought as she watched Adam do it again before yanking his hand away after being zapped by the console.

“I can’t learn anything,” Adam complained before placing his palm on the palm-print once again, “Let’s try computers. From the twenty-first century to the present date, give me the history of the microprocessor.”

Data started scrolling down the screen and Zaly narrowed her eyes at both the console and Adam.

“Oh my god,” Adam breathed before pulling out the phone he had pocketed earlier and started to call someone, “Mum, Dad, keep this message, okay?”

Zaly furrowed her brows as she overheard what he was saying. _How the hell can he be calling home?_ she thought.

“What ever you do, don’t erase it. Save it, you got that?” Adam continued, “The microprocessor became redundant in the year two thousand and nineteen, replaced by a system called SMT. That’s Singular Molecular Transcription....”

The screen changed, displaying a message, but Zaly couldn’t see it.

“No, no, no, no, no! What are you doing? Come back! Why are you doing that?” Adam said, “What’s Floor Sixteen? What’s down there?”

Watching Adam leave, Zaly was quick to make her way over to the console and frowned when it suddenly turned off.

“Nothing like a little trap to lure the unsuspecting,” she muttered before glancing around again, though her eyes lit up when she saw just what she was after.

\----

“And what do you think you’re doing?” a voice asked and Zaly spun around from the wiring she was trying to work through, raising her hands.

“I swear I didn’t do it,” she exclaimed until she saw the Doctor and Rose standing there with the stuck up woman, eh, Cathica, “Oh, it’s you. Don’t mind me, I’m just trying to work out what was happening here,” she told them before going back to work, “And also Doc, is it possible to make calls back home while, er....well, travelling?” she asked as she continued trying to hack into the computer.

The Doctor frowned at the red head, watching her stripping wires before reconnecting them with others. “Where did you get those tools?” he questioned.

Zaly glanced at him, “You answer mine and I’ll answer yours,” she told him.

“Universal Roaming,” the Doctor said, causing Zaly to pause.

“Really? Universal Roaming?” she asked before pulling a face, “I don’t like it. What about Dial Direct? Call anyone, any time, any where. Or, you got the code, well connect the call. Who would call it Universal Roaming? Like, sure I guess it’s straight forward and all, but a bit bland don’t you think?”

“Zaly, the tools,” the Doctor huffed, stopping her rambling. There were far more important things to worry about than what something was called.

“Oh, these?” Zaly asked, holding up the wire strippers and pliers, “I always carry them.”

“Why do you carry wire strippers?” Rose asked.

“Why don’t you?” Zaly retorted as she connected the last two wires. She made a sound of triumph and looked to a small monitor with a schematic on it.

“Why are you looking at plumbing?” the Doctor questioned as he looked at the monitor.

“Well, I was trying to hack into what was on Floor Five Hundred, but I got hot while I was working and so I decided to see if I could reroute the air conditioning to co....Oh, that’s strange,” she frowned at the monitor, “Look at this,” she said, allowing the Doctor a closer look at what had caught her eye.

“You’ve got access to the computer's core. You can look at the archives, the news, stock exchange and your looking at pipes?” Cathica asked in disbelief.

“Oh, but she’s got a point. There’s something wrong,” the Doctor said before showing Cathica the monitor.

“I suppose,” the woman admitted as she looked at it.

“Why, what is it?” Rose questioned, looking at the monitor as well, but unable to see what was troubling the Doctor and Zaly.

“The ventilation system,” Zaly spoke up, “Cooling ducts, ice fillers, all working flat out channelling massive amounts of heat downwards. No wonder it’s so hot here.”

“All the way from the top,” the Doctor added.

“Floor Five Hundred,” Rose said before frowning at Zaly, wondering how she could have known something was wrong.

“Yep,” Zaly said, popping the ‘p', “Something up there must be generating tons and tons of heat. Though I wonder why? It’s a news station, not a desert resort.”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m missing out on a party. It’s all going on upstairs. Fancy a trip?” Rose asked the Doctor with a grin, deciding to just ignore the red head.

“You can’t. You need a key,” Cathica told them with a frown.

“Keys are just codes, and I’ve got the code right here,” the Doctor said, causing Zaly to glance at him in surprise before looking at the monitor, “Here we go. Override two-one-five-point-nine.”

“Okay then. That’s not a little alarming at all....” Zaly murmured as she eyed the monitor that showed the code 215.9976/31.

“How come it’s given you the code?” Cathica asked them.

The Doctor looked up to a security camera, “Someone up there likes me.”

“Yep, well I’m glad it’s you they like and not me for once,” Zaly said as she tried to walk off, not wanting to even think about who would be interested in them. She knew what a trap looked like, and this was screaming it in big bold letters with an exclamation mark at the end.

“Oh no, you found it, you’re coming,” the Doctor said as he grabbed her arm, “And Gods know what you’d get up to if left here own your own.”

Zaly’s shoulders fell as she looked to the Doctor, “You know, for a babysitter in denial, you really are taking your job seriously.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes, “Come on,” he said before heading off toward the lifts.

“You can’t fool me, Doc,” Zaly muttered, though she followed.

\----

The red head sighed as she stepped inside the lift after Rose and the Doctor.

“For the record, Doc, I’m against this. Usually people don’t walk willingly into traps,” she told the man.

“Yes, and people also usually don’t walk around with wire cutters, either,” the Doctor replied, looking at her pointedly.

“Come on. Come with us,” Rose continued to try and convince Cathica to join them, though Zaly thought the woman had the right idea when she stepped back.

“No way,” Cathica declined.

“Bye!” was the response she got from the Doctor as he grinned at her.

“Well, don’t mention my name. When you get in trouble, just don’t involve me,” Cathica told them before she left.

“Great, so she can leave, but I’m stuck here,” Zaly muttered.

“That’s her gone,” the Doctor said, deciding to ignore Zaly, “Adam's given up. Looks like it’s just us three.”

“Once again,” Zaly cut in as the lift door closed, “Don’t want to be here,” she told them before frowning, “Quick question, though. Any of you two know what’s on Floor Sixteen?”

The Doctor glanced at her, rather confused as Rose answered, “Cathica said that was where she was when she first arrived. Said it was medical, where she got her head done.”

Zaly raised an eyebrow, “Oh, that’s interesting,” she murmured, wondering why Adam would have been led to the medical floor.

“Why is that interesting?” the Doctor asked, now curious.

“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” Zaly waved him off, “But that portal thingy. If that allows them to stream information, would it work like anything else and be able to take information as well?” she questioned, trying to work out who could, whoever it was in control of this place, possibly want with Adam.

“Well, it works as a processor, so it would be able to work both ways. Why?” the Doctor asked, but before Zaly could respond, the lift doors opened.

“Oh, and I really was hoping for gold,” Zaly pouted as she stepped off the lift, looking around to find everything frozen.

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor spoke up, “The walls are not made of gold. You two should go back downstairs.”

“Tough,” Rose replied before walking off.

“You know, now that I’m here,” Zaly said as she followed the Doctor, “I think I might stay.”

The Doctor just rolled his eyes again as the trio walked further into the room.

“I started without you,” a man said as they approached him and some of his staff, “This is fascinating. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you three, you don’t exist. Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint?”

“Well, I guess it depends on where you walk,” Zaly told the man, “Sand, for instance, would leave perfect footprints. But say something like stones or even bitumen, then your won’t lea – ow! What was that for?” Zaly exclaimed as she glared at the Doctor after he poked her in the side.

“Shush,” the Doctor told her, but Zaly wasn’t paying attention when something gained her attention.

“Oh, this day just gets better,” Zaly muttered quietly, her gaze drawn to the roof.

“Suki. Suki!” Rose shouted before rushing over to the woman who sat in front of one of the computer’s. Zaly looked down from the roof and towards the blonde after hearing her voice. “Hello? Can you hear me? Suki? What have you done to her?” the blonde asked the man.

“I think she’s dead,” Zaly commented as she noticed the frost that seemed to cover Suki and the other workers.

“She’s working,” Rose exclaimed, not believing the red head.

“They’ve all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going, like puppets,” the Doctor explained.

“Oh! You’re full of information. But it’s only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you’re no one,” the man said, “It’s so rare not to know something. Who are you?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter,” the Doctor told him as he covered Zaly's mouth when she went to speak, “Because we’re off. Nice to meet you,” he said before grabbing Zaly’s hand, “Come on,” he told Rose before turning back to the lift, only to be grabbed by some of the zombie workers as Suki grabbed Rose.

“Tell me who you are,” the man demanded again.

“Since that information’s keeping us alive, I’m hardly going to say, am I,” the Doctor told the man with a glare.

“Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise,” the man said.

“And who’s that?” the Doctor questioned.

“It may interest you to know that this is not the Forth and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it’s not actually human at all. It’s merely a place where humans happen to live.”

There was a sudden snarl and the Editor nodded, “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It’s a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client.”

“You mean your puppet master?” Zaly asked, nodding to the beast sitting above the Editor, making the Doctor and Rose look up as well.

“What is that?” Rose exclaimed in horror.

“You’re very observant,” the Editor remarked as he stepped towards Zaly.

“You mean that thing’s in charge of Satellite Five?” the Doctor asked in disbelief.

“Puppets, Doc. Puppets,” Zaly told him, earning a confused look from the Time Lord.

“She’s correct,” the Editor nodded as he looked to the Doctor, “That thing, as you put it, is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humans guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe,” the Editor grinned, “I call him Max.”

“Sounds more like a dog’s name, to be fair,” Zaly remarked and the beast let out another snarl.

“Restrain them,” the Editor ordered and the three time travellers found themselves placed in hefty sets of manacles.

“You just had to say something, didn’t you?” Rose muttered as she shot Zaly a glare.

Zaly shrugged as best she could, “It was going to happen either way,” she stated before pausing, “Well, this or dying. I say we’re doing well, wouldn’t you?”

“Will you shut it?” the Doctor snapped at the red head, shooting her a disapproving look.

“Fine,” Zaly huffed with a roll of her eyes.

The Editor watched their bickering in amusement. “Create a climate of fear and it’s easy to keep the borders closed. It’s just a matter of emphasis,” the Editor explained once they had fallen silent, “The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote.”

“So all the people on Earth are like, slaves,” Rose stated in disbelief.

“Well, now, there’s an interesting point,” the Editor said, “Is a slave a slave if he doesn’t know he’s enslaved?” he asked.

“Yes,” the Doctor replied as Zaly nodded her head.

“Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate,” the Editor said, seemingly disappointed, “Is that all I’m going to get? Yes?” he questioned.

“Yes,” the Doctor repeated.

“Not even from her?” the Editor asked, looking to Zaly, who only nodded. He frowned, “You’re no fun.”

“Let me out of these manacles. You’ll find out how much fun I am,” the Doctor told the Editor seriously.

“Oh, he’s tough, isn’t he. But, come on. Isn’t this a great system? You’ve got to admire it, just a little bit,” The Editor remarked.

Zaly rolled her eyes at the man as Rose spoke up, “You can’t hide something on this scale. Someone must have noticed.”

“Of course someone would have,” Zaly said sarcastically unable to stay quite any longer, “But the chips,” she continued, nodding to the zombies at the computer’s, “They work like one big computer system,” she glanced at the Doctor, “Like you said, they transmit information, but like any computer system, it can work both ways,” she looked back to the Editor with a glare, “But it’s not just any old computer system, is it? Any thought, any kind of upload, and it gets sent straight back to you, the main receiver. The human race becomes nothing but cattle that can be controlled. Any stray thought you don’t like, you remove them from the system.”

“Oh ho, you really are smart,” the Editor declared with a grin, “It’s true. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they’re so individual, when of course, they’re not. Like you said, nothing but cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn’t changed a thing,” he told them.

Zaly's gaze moved just over the Editor's shoulder when she noticed movement being him, only to spot Cathica.

“What about you?” Rose questioned, having spotted the woman as well, “You’re not a Jagrabelly?”

“Jagrafess,” the Doctor and Zaly corrected together, the former having also noticed Cathica, but the Doctor's gaze was drawn back to Zaly.

She was really becoming a larger mystery the more time he spent around her. She was sarcastic, annoying, terrible at following orders, pressed every one of his buttons, but she was also incredibly smart and very observant. The Doctor was starting to see why she had managed to finish university so quickly.

“Jagrafess. You’re not a Jagrafess. You’re human,” Rose stated.

“Yeah, well, simply being human doesn’t pay very well,” the Editor admitted with a shrug.

“But you couldn’t have done this all on your own,” Rose continued.

“No,” the Editor agreed, “I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself.”

“Puppets controlling puppets,” Zaly muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes. _Of course, there’s always someone else in control,_ she thought.

“No wonder, a creature that size. What’s his life span?” the Doctor questioned.

“Three thousand years,” the Editor told them.

Zaly glanced up to the Jagrafess and couldn’t help but think how boring that would be to live so long stuck in one place. It was the main reason she never got a job, finding the repetitious work boring and uneventful.

“That’s one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat,” the Doctor said, gaining Zaly's attention, “That’s why Satellite Five’s so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system.”

“Holy shit,” Zaly breathed as it click in her mind. She glanced passed the Editor and to Cathica before looking to the Doctor, realising what he was trying to do.

“But that’s why you’re so dangerous,” the Editor told them, “Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown. Who are you?” he demanded.

“I’m Tom, she’s Dick, and he's Harry,” Zaly said sarcastically, causing the Editor to glare at her before snapping his fingers. She let out a cry in pain when the manacles let out an electric shock. She glared at the man through her pain, feeling her muscles tighten and her teeth sharpen as she clenched her jaw, but took a deep breath to calm down.

 _Now isn’t the time,_ Zaly told herself, trying to fight the urge to rip the man apart.

“Leave her alone!” the Doctor shouted, “I’m the Doctor, and they’re Rose Tyler and Zaly Pond. We’re nothing, we’re just wandering.”

“Tell me who you are!” the Editor ordered more firmly.

“He just told you, you piece of sh-" Zaly let out an out cry as she was once again shocked. She let out a low growl as her fists clenched, fighting back the pain, causing the Doctor to glance at her in concern.

He had seen what had happened when she had asked him to leave, and although every scan he had done showed she was human, he couldn’t figure out how she had the ability to shapeshift....if what he had seen was real.

“Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly....” the Editor stopped talking when the Jagrafess growled. He looked to the Doctor in a way that Zaly was sure she didn’t like, “Time Lord,” he said.

“What?” the Doctor asked, rather startled.

Zaly looked between the Editor and the Doctor, rather at a loss to what the Editor was talking about. She couldn’t deny that the word did seem rather familiar however. The red head just couldn’t remember where from.

“Oh, yes. The Last of the Time Lords in his time travelling machine. Oh, with his human girl from long ago,” the Editor stated before looking at Zaly with a frown, “But this one, she’s different, unknown. Just who are you?” he demanded.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Zaly replied with a glare.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Doctor told the man.

“Time travel,” the Editor replied, looking to the Doctor.

“Someone’s being telling you lies,” the Doctor shot back.

“Oh, I’m gonna a kill that mutt,” Zaly breathed when she realised where the Editor could have gotten that information from.

The Editor grinned at Zaly, “Young master Adam Mitchell?” he said before a holo-monitor appeared, showing Adam in the broadcast chair screaming as information was pulled from his brain.

“Oh, my god. His head!” Rose exclaimed.

“What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done?” the Doctor shouted, “They’re reading his kind. He’s telling them everything!” His head suddenly snapped to Zaly, finding her watching the screen with a glare, “You knew!” he shouted at her.

“How the hell was I supposed to know he’d go and get his fucking head done?” Zaly shot back at the Time Lord, “I tried to warn you about him, but no! No one believes a fucking criminal do they? You were more concerned that I’d bloody steal something or get into trouble, then worry about anything else.”

The Doctor opened his mouth to retort back, but closed it when he realised she was right. He hadn’t even spared a glance to what Adam was doing, more worried that Zaly would have gotten up to no good if he had let her out of his sight.

The red head turned back to the holo-monitor with a glare, her hands clenching as her eyes bore into Adam.

“And now through him, I know everything about you,” the Editor remarked, ignoring their argument, “Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you’ve seen in you T, A, R, D, I, S. TARDIS.”

“Well, you’ll never get your hands on it,” the Doctor snapped, “I’ll die first.”

“Die all you like,” the Editor replied uncaring, “I don’t need you. I’ve got the key.”

The Doctor and Rose watched on as the TARDIS key rose from Adam’s pocket.

“You and your boyfriend’s!” the Doctor shouted at Rose before he noticed something alarming.

Zaly was gone.

The Doctor furrowed his brows before looking back to the holo-monitor when Rose made a noise of alarm.

“What?!” the Editor exclaimed when he noticed Zaly on the screen. He looked to where she was manacled, only to find her missing, “How did she do that.”

They watched as Zaly snatched the key from mid-air before snapping her fingers, closing the portal in Adam's head. She turned to the camera with a glare before they both vanished from the screen the moment she grabbed Adams arm.

“What did she do?” the Editor demanded as he turned to the Doctor and Rose.

The Doctor was still staring at the holo-monitor in shock, unable to process what he had just seen. She had been right beside them, manacled just like they had, but now she was....

“What did she do?!” the Editor all but shouted, causing the zombie workers to jump before they started working frantically.

There was a loud crack that caused everyone alive to jump, and when they looked to the direction it came from, their jaws dropped when they saw Zaly standing there.

“Nothing,” the red head replied in a way that had the Doctor's eyes narrowing, “Just took back what didn’t belong to you,” she continued as she held up the TARDIS key.

And alarm sounded and Zaly smirked when there was a snarl from the Jagrafess above her.

“Oh, and I might have added a little virus into your system,” she added.

“Someone’s disengaged the safety. Who’s that?” the Editor asked before calling the image up on the holo-monitor.

“It’s Cathica,” Rose exclaimed in delight when the monitor showed the woman in one of the spike chairs.

“And she’s thinking,” Zaly said, “She’s using what she knows....with a little nudge in the right direction.”

The Doctor stared at Zaly in disbelief, completely unsure what to make of the red head.

“Terminate her access,” the Editor ordered the zombies, who were quick to try.

“Everything we told her about Satellite Five,” Zaly continued as she turned her gaze onto the Editor, “The pipes, the filters, she’s reversing it,” she looked around at the room, noticing the ice was starting to melt, “Look at that,” she remarked before she disappeared again, but not before releasing the Doctor and Rose from their manacles with a quick spell.


	7. Six

Zaly appeared on Floor One-Three-Nine and was quick to locate a waste bin and threw up. She groaned, feeling as though she was going to be sick again, as well as pass out at the same time.

“Last time I do that,” she muttered as she fished around in her pockets for her bottle of water, wanting to wash the taste of vomit from her mouth.

When she was finished, she threw the now empty bottle in the bin and made her way back to the TARDIS, knowing that the Doctor and Rose would be back soon.

She sat down, resting her back against the ship as she closed her eyes. “Well, that went rather well,” she murmured, feeling drained from apparating so many times in succession, knowing she would have a killer headache for the next few hours.

Hearing a groan nearby, Zaly opened one eye and looked to Adam, who was laying not far from where she was. There was a small triumphant smile that appeared on Zaly's lips, knowing the young man hadn’t taken to the sudden apparation well before she closed her eye, opting to just ignore him.

They snapped open a moment later when the box she was resting against suddenly cooled and she turned to it with a frown.

“Why do I get the feeling that the Doc isn’t the only telepath?” she asked, and the ship hummed. “Not weird at all,” she muttered, deciding to deal with it later.

Her head was already starting to hurt and Zaly could admit that the coolness from the ship was helping. She could have taken some aspirin for her growing headache, but never did. One, she was highly allergic, and two, she didn’t have any.

The TARDIS let out another hum as Zaly closed her eyes again and slowly started drifting off to sleep.

\----

“Zaly,” a voice broke through Zaly's unconsciousness and she felt someone shake her gently, “Zaly, wake up.”

“Go away, Mels,” the red head muttered as she tried to push whoever it was away, “I’m trying to sleep.”

“Yes, I can see that,” the voice continued, though now it was sounding amused, “But wouldn’t it be better inside the TARDIS?”

Zaly's eyebrows creased, “Mels, tell Amy to leave Rory alone and shut it,” she grumbled before turning away, only to pitch sideways and woke with a start when someone grabbed her. “I’m awake!” she shouted, before noticing it had been the Doctor who had caught her.

“Oh, it’s you,” she stated unhappily as she rubbed her eyes and stood up, causing the Doctor to let her go. “I was rather hoping that it had been a dream,” she murmured to herself as she handed the TARDIS key over to the Time Lord. “I believe this is yours,” she told him before moving to the TARDIS door.

She frowned at the ship, remembering the small conversation they....well, she had had before falling asleep and shrugged before pushing the door open and stepped inside, deciding that a telepathic space/time ship didn’t seem so important right now.

“Don’t know anywhere good to sleep, do you?” she asked the ship out loud as she passed through the console room. Her head was starting to ache and the less she had to deal with right now, the better.

When she got to the corridor that led out of the console room, the lights flickered and arrows appeared on the floor before her again.

“Thanks,” Zaly muttered as she followed them, not even giving them a second glance.

The Doctor and Rose stood frozen in the TARDIS doorway, watching Zaly disappear down the corridor.

“I thought you needed a key to enter the TARDIS?” Rose asked the Doctor after a moment.

The Doctor didn’t respond as he continued to stare where Zaly had disappeared, rather confused himself.

He looked to the key in his hand before back to the corridor, wondering just who, or what, Zaly Pond was.

“Come on,” he said after a moment, dragging the complaining Adam inside the TARDIS after Rose entered.

\----

The moment Zaly entered the bedroom the TARDIS led her to, she made her way over to the bed and collapsed onto it, not even bothering to get changed or remove her shoes.

The TARDIS dimmed the lights as Zaly slept, letting out a soft hum when the red head started to toss and turn in her sleep.

\----

_When Regulus, Tanith, and Lily reappeared, they found themselves at Hogwarts near the Black Lake._

_Lily took a step away from the pair and Tanith's hold on the port-key dropped as she did so. Regulus sent a stunner towards the witch, but it missed as the port-key whisked Lily away._

_“Shit,” the wizard hissed, feeling stupid that he and Tanith had been taken by surprise. Tanith's parents were not going to be happy with him and he really didn’t have a way to explain how she had gotten them taken._

_“Don’t worry, Reg,” Tanith told him and he glanced to her, hearing how calm she was, “She's not the one who wants us here.”_

_“You really were the brightest in you class,” another voice spoke and the pair looked towards it. Tanith just raised an eyebrow when Dumbledore appeared, though Regulus tensed._

_“Took you long enough,” the red head replied, causing both Regulus and Dumbledore to frown. Tanith just shook her head at the older wizard as she got Regulus to let the death grip he had on her arm go. “Did you really think that I wouldn’t know a port-key when I saw one?” she asked._

_“You knew that Lily had a port-key?” Regulus asked in disbelief, “And you just grabbed it?!”_

_“Dumbledore has been trying to track me for almost two years now and I knew he would make his move,” Tanith explained, although she didn’t take her eyes off the older man, “It was just a matter of who he would send to do his dirty work.”_

_“I only wanted to offer you a choice, Tanith,” Dumbledore told her, “It didn’t need to come to this.”_

_“You speak of choices, and yet you kidnapped us from the Ministry, right in front of the Minister's office no less,” Regulus cut in, glaring at Dumbledore._

_“He knew I would be there today,” Tanith spoke up before Dumbledore could say anything, “It was published in the Prophet that I was to meet with the Minister, giving him the perfect opportunity to....as you said, kidnap me.”_

_“And you just let him?” Regulus asked her and she turned to him, finally looking away from Dumbledore._

_“I have a few things I need to say to him,” a smirk appeared on her face, one that Regulus recognised, “And I didn’t come alone.”_

_“No one can apparate inside-"_

_“Hogwarts. Yes, I know,” Tanith cut Dumbledore off as she turned her gaze back to him, “But it says nothing for people who have been invited here.”_

_There was a crack behind Tanith and Regulus as two figures appeared._

_“And by an heir no less,” Serenity finished from where her daughter had left off, stepping up beside the pair._

_“Do you think me a fool?” Tanith asked Dumbledore, causing him to look back at her, “That I wouldn’t know what you’re planning?”_

_“You take the words off a seer and twist them to your own goals,” Serenity continued, and Regulus looked between the two Time Lady's, knowing that neither were happy with Dumbledore’s meddling ways._

_“I won’t see the rise of another Dark Lord,” Dumbledore narrowed his gaze on Tanith, “Or Lady.”_

_Tanith laughed, though it was hollow, “Anyone could become a Dark Lord or Lady,” she remarked, “Some more than others, but its the choices people make, the people they hang around,” she nodded to Regulus, “That show just how light or dark they are.”_

_“There is also their stench,” the woman who had appeared with Serenity spoke up and Tanith's lip twitched as she continued, “And yours, Dumbledore, is worse than anyone's here.”_

_“Valencia, I should have realised,” Dumbledore muttered and the brunette just grinned toothily at him, not even trying to hide her fangs._

_“Your plan failed, Dumbledore,” Tanith told him, not taking any notice when her mother talked quietly with Valencia, too focused on the wizard in front of her, “The seer lied. Just accept that you were wrong and leave this foolish path behind you.”_

_Before anyone could respond, three wizards appeared in the middle of the group._

_“I told you to wait!” Potter snapped at Pettigrew as he snatched the port-key from the other wizards hand before realising that they had interrupted something._

_The moment the three newcomers laid their eyes on Tanith and Regulus and saw the pair weren’t alone, they drew their wands and attacked, ignoring Dumbledore’s order to get them to stop._

_The three wizards took no notice though, their only thoughts on taking out the last two people who had been a bane to their existence since that first day on the Hogwarts Express ten years ago._

_They had already dealt with and obliviated Severus and Lucius, just as Dumbledore had instructed, which only left Tanith and Regulus, and they weren’t going to let ten years of a grudge go to waste._

_Tanith and Regulus however, worked together like a well oiled machine, having practised constantly under Tanith's father for as long as either had held a wand. And given that this wasn’t a school yard fight, they didn’t hold back, either._

_Pettigrew was the first to fall, having lost a finger in the fight and disappeared in his animagus form the moment attention was drawn away from him._

_Valencia stayed beside Serenity, keeping the Time Lady safe from any stray spells. She had wanted to take the Time Lady away, knowing that she had no skills in a magical fight, but the half vampire also knew that Serenity had to be here._

_The next to fall was Sirius, succumbing to a spell Tanith had created specifically for the mutt after he had tried to kill Severus by setting Lupin against him._

_It was a nasty curse that borderlined dark magic, seeing that it made him relive everything he had ever done to someone....as well as knocking the wizard out cold._

_When Regulus and Tanith aimed their wands at James Potter, the last of their tormentors standing, there was a shout behind them and Tanith found herself being pushed to the ground._

_“Avada Kavada!” came from Pettigrew, who had sneaked behind them._

_Tanith watched in horror as the green beam hit her mother after Serenity had pushed her out of the way._

_Time seem to slow for Tanith as she watched Regulus rush towards her mother and everything sounded as though she were under water._

_The red head stumbled as she tried to get to her feet and looked around, looking for the wizard who killed her mother._

_She shook of Valencia's grip when the half vampire tried to get her to move, but the moment Tanith's eyes landed on Dumbledore, everything went black._

\----

Zaly shot up in breath with a gasp, her body drenched in sweat.

It took her heart a while to return to a more calm rate as her breathing evened out, shivering at the chill of the room.

She got out of bed and headed to the bathroom, splashing water on her face the moment she stood in front of the sink.

“What the fuck was that?” the red head questioned as she stared at her reflection, the grip she had on the side of the sink tightening until her knuckles turned white.

Closing her eyes, Zaly was momentarily confused when she felt her anger rise, though it was quick to become surprise when she jumped, her eyes snapping open after there was the sound of glass cracking.

The mirror she had been staring at moments earlier now had three cracks through it and she was quick to push the dream to the back of her mind. She couldn’t risk an outburst with the Doctor and Rose around.

She let out a calming breath, feeling the tension leave her shoulders, though Zaly couldn’t help but wonder what these memories meant.

The sharp pain that lanced through her mind at the thought stopped her from thinking on it any more and she decided to take a shower.

\----

Not half an hour later saw the red head entering the console room, wearing the same clothes as earlier.

She had found them cleaned, dried and neatly folded after she had stepped out of the shower, though she was pleasantly surprised to notice that her belongings were still in her pockets.

“Ah, sleeping beauty’s awake,” the Doctor's voice cut through her thoughts when he noticed her enter. “Good. We can talk,” he continued, only to cause Zaly to frown.

“Oh, no. We’re not talking about anything,” she told him, “I want you to take me home, right now.”

The Time Lord opened his mouth to respond, only for his companion to come, screaming into the room.

“My hair!” she exclaimed, holding a handful of her hair, “It's pink!”

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow, wondering what she was going on about, missing Zaly having to stiffen a grin. “Are you sure?” he asked Rose, not seeing anything different with her blonde hair.

“Of course, I’m sure!” Rose snapped hysterically, holding a handful of hair out to him....only to pause when she noticed it was blonde. “But....but it was pink,” she muttered, her eyebrows creasing.

“You sure you’re not seeing things?” Zaly couldn’t help but ask, her tone mock concern. Inside, however, she was laughing.

“I swear it was pink!” Rose spun to her with a glare, “What did you do?!” she demanded.

“Who, me?” Zaly asked in mock surprise, pointing to herself, “I haven’t done anything.”

Rose's eyes narrowed on the red head, “I know you did something!”

“Ah....I was sleeping,” Zaly pointed to the corridor the blonde had just stormed through moments ago, “And now I’m telling the Doctor to take me home. Think you might need to get your eyes checked.”

“Rose,” the Doctor cut in before Rose could say anything else, “Zaly's telling the truth. She had only just entered the room.”

“And he’s about to drop me off at home,” Zaly looked to the Doctor, “Isn’t that right, Doc?”

Rose huffed when the Doctor's response was just a raised eyebrow and she spun on her heel and stormed out off the room, muttering angrily under her breath as she went.

Zaly watched her go with a grin, wondering how long the spell would last for. She turned back to the Doctor when the blonde had disappeared from sight, only to find him watching her with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” she asked, trying to look confused.

“Are you going to tell me what you did at Satellite Five?” he asked with a frown, How one moment, you were there with us on Floor Five Hundred, and then the next, you were three hundred and sixty-one floors below us?”

“Magic,” Zaly replied sarcastically, making a rainbow motion with her hands as she rolled her eyes, “Now, are you going to take me home?”

The Doctor just stared at her for a moment before sighing and shook his head. “Fine,” he agreed, if a bit reluctantly as he moved around the console and pulled a lever.

“Great,” Zaly grinned as she held onto the console.

The Time Lord pulled the lever again and the TARDIS landed. “There, you’re home,” he told her, crossing his arms against his chest.

Zaly just looked at him expectantly, causing the Doctor to grow confused. She rolled her eyes, holding out her hand.

“My guns,” she reminded him, “You said I could have them back when I leave. This is me, leaving. So, I would like them back.”

The Doctor eyed her as he pulled out her weapons from his pocket. He hesitated before handing them over, not really okay with her carrying them in the first place.

But, he did say he would return them when she left....

“Thanks,” Zaly flashed him a grin as she pocketed the guns before heading towards the door.

She missed the Time Lords eyes narrow when he definitely had seen that the weapons shouldn’t have fit inside the pocket she had placed them in.

“Hope to never see you again, Doc,” the red head continued as she opened the door and stepped outside the TARDIS.

Zaly didn’t even turn around as the TARDIS begun to dematerialize, just wanting to get home and forget that the whole thing ever happened.

\----

Zaly grinned as she approached the front door to her apartment and fished around in one her pockets for her keys.

The grin fell when she tried to unlock the door, the key not fitting the lock and she frowned at the key.

“It's the right one,” she muttered, seeing the key was the one that should unlock the door, “That’s strange.”

The red head glanced around, and seeing no one, she hovered one hand above the lock and push out with her magic, wanting the lock to unlock.

There was the sound of the lock clicking over and Zaly grinned before opening the door.

“Er. Can I help you?” a woman asked from inside the flat, staring at Zaly in confusion and surprise.

Zaly froze, her grin gone as she eyed the woman. Her eyes darted around the apartment and scowled.

“Oh, that arsehole!” she seethed as she spun on her heel and rushed back down the stairs, leaving the woman staring after her in bewilderment.

“He couldn’t even drop me off at the right fucking time,” she continued, recognising the furniture as the same that the older lady had when she moved out. “When I see him next, I’m gonna bloody kill him.”

She quickly made her way out of the estate and looked around, hoping to find anything that would give away the date.

“Excuse me?” she called to an older man as he approached, “Can you tell me the date?” she asked.

“Ah, Saturday,” the man replied, rather confused.

“No, no,” she shook her head, “The date. Like, day, month, year?”

“Why?” the man asked, growing more confused by the second.

“Just....just humour me, please,” Zaly said quickly, just needing to know.

“Okay. 7th November, 1987,” the man told her, looking rather perplex at her strange question.

“Oh,” she breathed, “Oh, he is so dead!” she exclaimed before rushing off.

“Hey! Is everything okay?” the man shouted, but Zaly kept on running.

\----

Zaly stopped on a street corner to catch her breath.

She had been running for a solid ten minutes with no real direction as to where she was going.

Letting out a frustrated growl, the red head kicked a trash bin, only to regret it not a moment later when her foot protested the rough treatment with pain.

“Ow!” she cried out as she hopped on her uninjured foot as she held the one that she had just hurt.

After hopping around like a crazy person for a moment, Zaly scowled. “How the hell am I gonna get home now?” she grumbled under her breath, “How does one even locate a bloody time traveller?” she asked louder, exasperated.

“Lost someone?” a voice had Zaly turning on the spot and towards it, her hand going to her jacket and wrapped around the handle of her gun, but she didn’t draw it when she saw who was standing there.

“Oh, no, no,” she told the Eleventh Doctor, taking a step away from him, “You can’t be here. You....you....”

The Eleventh Doctor raised an eyebrow at Zaly, rather amused. “I sometimes forget how fearful you were at the beginning,” he stated before shaking his head, “But if you’re looking for my previous self, Jordan Road is where I will be,” he glanced at his watched, “If you’re quick, you’ll just catch me,” he added before starting to walk away.

Zaly frowned at his retreating back, rather confused. She watched him turn down an alley and made the split decision to follow after him, entering the alleyway just as the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising reached her.

Throwing up her hands in disbelief, Zaly couldn’t believe that he had just left her. “You have a bloody TARDIS and you didn’t think to take me fucking home?!” she shouted into the empty alleyway.

She stood there for a moment longer before remembering he had told her where his previous self was. “Jordan Road,” she murmured before running back out of the alleyway.


	8. Seven

Zaly came to with a groan and opened her eyes, rather unsure as to what had happened, only to close them the moment she did so, finding the light a little bright.

“Easy there,” a voice broke through her confusion and she turned to it.

“Wh-what happened?” she asked, a hand going to her forehead as she opened her eyes again, blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light.

The Doctor didn’t say anything for a moment, causing Zaly's eyebrows to crease. “Rose saved her father,” he finally said, though the red head could pick up on the anger he tried to keep from his voice.

“What?” she asked, sitting up as she tried to get her mind to work. She paused, realising she was resting against a wall, “Why am I on the ground?”

The Time Lord frowned as he took a step away from Zaly. “What do you remember?” he asked, his tone and hesitancy gaining the red heads full attention.

She frowned, trying to recall what had happened, “I....you dropped me off....you,” her eyes narrowed on the Doctor, “You complete and utter imbecile,” she growled as she got up, using the wall to help her, “I told you I wanted to go home, not nineteen fucking eighty-seven!”

The Doctor raised his hands, “Zaly, calm down. We’ve already had this conversation, remember?” he tried as he took another step away from the irate red head.

“Like hell I’m gonna calm down!” Zaly snapped as she took a step towards the Doctor, though the action caused her head to spin and she stumbled backwards into the wall.

“What did you do to me?” she demanded, trying to gather her thoughts, “And....” her eyes narrowed on the Time Lord, noticing a red mark starting to appear on one of his cheeks, “I wanna give whoever slapped you five pounds,” she finished, closing her eyes to try and stop the world from spinning.

The Doctor rubbed his red cheek, wincing at the memory. “Like I said, Zaly. We’ve already had this conversation,” he sighed.

“What do you me-”

The red head was cut off when she gasped as pain shot through her mind.

_Zaly ran around the corner and found herself on Jordan Road. She paused barely for a second before spotting the Doctor and Rose._

_“Doctor!” she shouted before taking off towards the pair, just as Rose ran off._

_The Time Lord froze in shock and his eyes widened when he saw Zaly running towards him, “Zaly?” he said, completely at a loss as to what she was doing here._

_“I am fucking going to kill you,” Zaly growled when she reached the Time Lord and before the Doctor could respond, Zaly slapped him, “You call this home? This is not my home. Oh, sure, London, England, Earth. But you dropped me off nineteen years too fucking early! What type of time traveller are you?”_

_The Doctor was quick to grab her arm and drag her along after Rose while he spoke, “What do you mean, nineteen years early. I had the date already set the moment you told me you wanted to go home. The TARDIS was programmed to drop you off the day after you were picked up in 2006.”_

_“And this clearly looks like 2006, doesn’t it?” she snapped._

“Zaly?” the Doctor questioned, looking at the red head in concern as her face twisted in pain.

“I....I slapped you,” Zaly said she slowly opened her eyes, the pain passing.

The Doctor let out a sigh and nodded, although he was concerned as to what had just happened.

The red head snorted, causing the Doctor to raise an eyebrow and she shrugged, “Just thought that the one time someone owes _me_ money....it ends up that I owe myself.”

The Time Lord just rolled his eyes.

“Why can’t I remember anything else?” Zaly suddenly questioned with a frown, realising that what she remembered didn’t explain why she had been on the floor.

“Like I said,” the Doctor sighed, though his expression made Zaly think he was expecting to be slapped again, “Rose saved her father,” he finished, turning to look towards the road where Rose and her father were talking next to a van.

“Wait, that’s Rose's father?” Zaly asked, recognising who the blonde was talking to.

“Do you know him?” the Doctor asked in surprise.

_“Okay. 7 th November, 1987,” the man told her._

“Yeah, it’s the man who told me what year it was,” Zaly muttered with a frown before she looked around, though unsure as to why.

“Zaly, come on,” the Doctor said as he grabbed her hand, breaking her from her thoughts.

“Oh, yeah, okay,” Zaly said as the Doctor led her over to the van, though she looked skyward when she thought she saw something fly overhead.

“Everything okay?” Rose's father asked, noticing the Doctor leading Zaly over to them. “Oh, I know you,” he said in surprise, “Your the woman who wanted to know what year it was.”

“Oh, yeah,” Zaly smiled slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck, “Nice to see you again.”

“You too, I think?” the man said, looking between the Doctor, Rose and Zaly in confusion before getting inside the van.

The others followed, Rose sitting in the front, while the Doctor and Zaly sat in the back.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” the Doctor asked Zaly quietly, noticing she seemed distracted. He was also worried about what she had said about not remembering anything else after Rose had saved Pete.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Zaly told him, though she looked back out the window with a frown.

\----

“Right, there we go,” Pete Tyler said as he led them inside his flat, Zaly having learnt his name on the way over, “Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, the kitchens just down there, milk’s in the fridge. Well, it would be, wouldn’t it. Where else would you put the milk?”

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the man as he continued to ramble before glancing to Rose, who was looking around the flat like a kid in a candy store. Glancing towards the Doctor, she noticed that the Time Lord didn’t look happy at all, and as much as she was still angry with him for dropping her off in the wrong time, she could clearly see that she had missed or forgotten something.

“....if someone invented a window sill for special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yoghurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things,” Pete continued, “I should write that down,” he shook his head, “Anyway, never mind that, excuse me for a minute. Got to go and change,” he told them before leaving the room.

“All the stuff mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard,” Rose said as she walked around the flat, “She use to show me when she’s had a bit to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be.”

Zaly drowned the blonde out as she tried to remember what happened after running into the Doctor. She wasn’t to sure what the Doctor had meant that this had happened because Rose had saved her father, or even why she couldn’t remember everything.

Closing her eyes, Zaly lent against the wall as she searched her mind, trying to locate her missing memories.

_“And this clearly looks like 2006, doesn’t it?” Zaly snapped._

_“Look, this isn’t the best time,” the Doctor told her as they rounded a corner._

_“Oh, and do you even know what time it is?” Zaly shot back before pulling her arm out of the Doctor's grip, “All I’ve wanted was to go fucking home, and now I’m being dragged into some more bullshit!” she exclaimed, getting more frustrated by the second._

_“So my dad dying is bullshit, is it?” Rose spoke up, causing Zaly to look at the blonde, only to realise she had been crying, “What are you even doing here? I thought you wanted to go home?”_

_Zaly shot the Doctor a confused look, wondering what the hell was going on, but the Time Lord just folded his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow at her._

_Narrowing her eyes on the Time Lord with a glare, Zaly looked back to Rose. “Oh, I was. Until I found out that someone dropped me off at the wrong time,” she said sarcastically._

_The sound of sirens reached them and Rose seemed to grow more upset. “It’s too late now,” she said, causing Zaly to look between the pair in confusion, “By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead.”_

_Zaly's eyes widened as she looked back around the corner, though she couldn’t really see much. She frowned as she looked back to the Doctor and Rose, feeling like she wanted to hit her head against something, even though she really didn’t have any idea that they would have just witnessed Rose's father dying._

_“He can’t die on his own,” Rose said as she looked to the Doctor, “Can I try again.”_

“Time is fractured,” Zaly muttered as she opened her eyes, only to wince when her head began to hurt, the whispers coming back.

“When we met, I said travel with me in space. You said no. Then I said time machine,” the Doctor snapped at Rose, drawing Zaly's attention, though she was a little confused as to how the voices were back, since the Doctor had told her that he had replaced the wall that kept them at bay.

“It wasn’t some big plan,” Rose dismissed his accusations, “I just saw it happening and I though, I can stop it.”

“I did it again,” the Doctor said in exasperation, “I picked another stupid ape. I should have known. It’s not about showing you the universe. It never is,” he continued, causing Zaly to raise an eyebrow at him, “It’s about the universe doing something for you.”

“So it’s okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it’s me saving my dad,” Rose snapped back.

“I know what I’m doing, you don’t,” the Doctor stressed, “Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point.”

“But he’s alive!” Rose told him.

“My entire planet died. My whole family,” the Doctor exclaimed, causing Zaly to stare at him in surprise, “Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?” he asked Rose, trying to get his point across.

Zaly furrowed her eyebrows as she looked to the Doctor, suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of sadness. The red head wondered if he even remembered that she was there, doubting that he would have said anything like that if he did.

Though as she thought more about what Rose had done, she couldn’t help but notice the whispers growing louder in her head and she shook it, trying to get rid of them.

“But it’s not like I’ve changed history. Not much,” Rose told him, “I mean, has never going to be a world leader. He’s not going to start World War Three or anything.”

“That’s not his point,” Zaly spoke up, pushing away from the wall and drawing their attention.

Rose glared at her while the Doctor turned to her in surprise, not having expected her of all people to agree with him.

“It doesn’t matter how it happened or why, but right now, there is a man alive who shouldn’t be. It doesn’t matter if he won’t amount to anything. The moment you saved his life, you created a fracture in time. And the fact that that man is alive has changed everything.”

“What, would you rather him dead?” Rose asked in disbelief.

“Yes,” Zaly said simply, “What ever happened, however Peter Tyler came to still be alive, it’s wrong.”

“Zaly, not now,” the Doctor warned her and she just shrugged before leaning against the wall again. He stared at her for a second longer, almost as if he was trying to work something out before turning back to Rose. “She doesn’t mean that,” he told the blonde, and Zaly rolled her eyes.

“No, I get it,” Rose sneered, looking between Zaly and the Doctor, “For once, your not the most important person in my life."

“I’m gonna go wait outside,” Zaly said to no one in particular, having enough of the fighting as she headed for the door.

“Let’s see how you get on without me, then,” she heard the Doctor say before she stepped outside.

Zaly lent against the railing as she looked out to the view, finding her gaze being drawn to the sky as her mind tried to recall the rest of what had happened.

_Zaly huffed as she stepped out of the TARDIS, though she didn’t say anything as she followed the Doctor and Rose._

_Even though she was completely against the idea and just wanted to go home, Zaly did feel slightly bad for her behaviour after having learnt that Rose had just watched her father die._

_“Right, that’s the first you and me,” the Doctor told Rose as they looked around a corner towards their earlier self’s, “It’s a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don’t see us,” he explained, “Wait until she runs off and me and Zaly follow, then go to your dad.”_

_Zaly rolled her eyes at the Doctor, wondering why he would do this if he thought it was such a bad idea, and how the fact that there had been possibly three Time Lords in one spot, though she still didn’t know how the Doctor could change faces._

_“I can’t do this,” Rose muttered as she watched her father._

_“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but this is the last time we can be here,” the Doctor told the blonde._

_Zaly didn’t realise until it was too late that Rose had started running forwards as her father got out of the van._

_“Rose! No!” the Doctor shouted._

_Rose dashed past her and the Doctor's earlier self's before pushing her father away from the oncoming car. Zaly stumbled backwards as the Doctor and Rose's earlier self's vanished, feeling a sudden coldness envelop her before she collapsed against the wall._

_An image flashed through Zaly's mind of a creature that reminded her of an ugly gargoyle. It had red eyes with a pair of wings, two claw-like arms, a mouth on its chest and a tail that resembled a scythe._

“Come on, Zaly, we’re leaving,” a voice said as a hand rested on Zaly's shoulder, causing the red head to jump.

“Are you okay?” the Doctor asked when he noticed how pail she looked.

“Yeah, yeah,” the red head replied quickly, though her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the Doctor.

“Zaly?”

“Sorry, but wha-" she shook her head, frowning, “Just....just remembering what happened earlier,” she corrected, turning away from the Doctor and heading down the stairs.

The Doctor watched her for a second, his eyebrows creasing slightly before following, unsure what she had been about to ask. He still wasn’t certain what had happened since Zaly had collapsed, but he was starting to get the feeling that she wasn’t fine.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” he questioned when they reached the bottom of the stairs. He wasn’t complaining that the red head was quiet, but she just seemed _too_ quiet.

She jumped in surprise at his voice, causing the Doctor's eyebrows to furrow, having not remembered Zaly being _this_ jumpy before.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she muttered as she looked skyward again, “Just a bit confused from earlier,” she explained.

The Doctor nodded, accepting her answer though didn’t believe her. He decided to keep an eye on her, though grew confused as to why the red head continuously glanced behind them or skyward. It was almost as if she thought they were being followed.

Just before the pair reached Waterley Street where the TARDIS was, Zaly stopped walking.

“Oh,” she breathed, looking back the way they had just come and the Doctor paused as well, starting to get concerned with her uncharacteristic behaviour.

“Zaly, what is it?” he asked, but the red head just shook her head and glanced back to the sky.

She started muttering under her breath, trying to work through her thoughts and caused the Doctor to take a step closer to her so he could hear what she was saying.

“But a fracture in time would leave a wound and that would, like any other wound, lead to bacteria. But a wound in time is different, not generally seen, and so the bacteria would not generally be seen unless they wanted to be,” the Doctor heard her mutter and wondered what she was talking about.

He didn’t have much time to think on it as Zaly suddenly dashed off towards the TARDIS.

“Zaly?!” the Doctor shouted, following after her, but once again the red head didn’t respond or even seem to hear him. They stopped just outside the TARDIS and the Doctor watched Zaly curiously as she continued to talk to herself.

“But if the bacteria fed on wounds in time, it would mean that they would also know of a TARDIS and be able to deactivate them. But that would mean....” she trailed off and held out her hand to the Doctor, who only looked at it in confusion, not knowing what she wanted. His eyebrows raised however, when he watched the TARDIS key he had just taken back off Rose float out of his pocket and to Zaly's outstretched hand.

The moment it landed in her hand, Zaly took a step towards the TARDIS and placed the key into the lock.

“What are you doing?” the Doctor questioned as he took a step towards her, rather unsure what was happening, but the moment Zaly pushed open the door, all previous concerns and thoughts left him when he noticed the TARDIS was empty, nothing inside but four plain walls.

“Reapers,” Zaly said before holding the key out to the Doctor, “You’ll need this,” she told him.

The Doctor accepted it and closed and locked the empty box, looking at Zaly in confusion. He wasn’t to sure what to make of the red head at this point.

“I do believe that the one known as Peter Tyler is behind this problem. The human who is alive, but shouldn’t be?” she asked the Doctor.

“Who are you?” the Doctor questioned seriously, taking a step towards the red head. Whoever this was, it wasn’t Zaly. As much as he found her annoyingly frustrating, he also found her interesting and, he would never admit it, a little fun.

Whoever was standing before him was not Zaly Pond.

The red head looked at him in confusion, a frown on her face. “Oh, of course,” she said, nodding to herself as if she worked something out, “Ah, but how to explain....”

“Explain what?” the Time Lord demanded.

“You know, I guess my uncle was wrong about you,” she said, confusing the Doctor.

Zaly Pond did not have an uncle.

“He use to speak so much about you and I always thought you were the smart one. Even mother thought you were brilliant, though a little....eccentric,” she smiled as though recalling something, but shook her head when the thoughts turned sad. “Uncle always called you a dunderhead for stealing a TARDIS, but after my time at the Academy, I could see why you would have. Bunch of political nonsense if you ask me,” her nose wrinkled.

“What?” the Doctor asked, but the red head continued, her face now serious.

“But enough of history, I need to find Peter Tyler. He mentioned one of those muggle churches, didn’t he?” she asked before running off.

The Doctor watched her leave, frozen to the spot as his hearts beat quickly in his chest. Her words should have been impossible....no, they _were_ impossible. There was only one Time Lord whom the Doctor knew personally to be an uncle, but that would mean....

“Tanith?” the Time Lord breathed before rushing after the red head, not wanting to lose her.


	9. Eight

“Tanith, wait!” the Doctor called.

“Oh, he does know,” Tanith muttered before glancing back to the Doctor as she continued to run, “As much as I'd love to talk, Doctor, I really need to find Pete Tyler.”

“Why?” the Doctor asked as he finally managed to catch up to her.

“Why not?” Tanith shot back, “Him being alive is the reason the Reapers are here, the reason I’m here. He is at the epicentre of all of this mess and if he doesn’t die, they won’t stop.”

The Doctor grabbed her arm as he stopped running, forcing Tanith to stop as well, “You can’t just kill him,” he told her, unbelieving that she would even consider killing anyone.

Tanith furrowed her brows at the Doctor, “And what, you have a better idea to correct this mess? There is a wound in time, and as Time Lords, we have a duty to fix this. That means that Pete Tyler has to die,” she said before removing her arm from his grip and heading off again towards the church.

The Doctor was quick to stop her, however. “I can’t let you do this. You’re talking about murder and I won’t let you do that,” he told her firmly.

Some unknown expression passed across Tanith's face before she raised an eyebrow at the Doctor. “Look, I’m sorry that your little human girlfriend stuffed up and saved her father, but the laws of time need to be upheld,” she told him firmly, “The Reapers won’t stop until he is dead, and at the cost of one life against all of reality, I _will_ do what is needed to fix this.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” the Doctor sputtered before refocusing on the rest of what Tanith had just said, “Give me a chance to fix this. No one needs to die.”

Tanith eyed him silently for a moment before nodding once.

“You get one chance, Doctor,” she held up one finger, “One. When that fails, I will do what is needed to fix this.”

“Thank you,” the Doctor breathed in relief.

“Don’t thank me yet, Doctor,” Tanith told him before they both started running to the church.

\----

As they reached the church, the Doctor spotted Rose.

“Rose!” the Time Lord shouted, causing the blonde to turn to him with a smug smile, though it vanished when he continued, “Get in the church!”

A Reaper appeared behind the blond and Tanith cursed under her breath as Rose spotted it and screamed.

“Humans,” the red head muttered under her breath in disgust as she flicked her hand forwards, her magic shooting towards Rose and pushing her to the floor, just as the Reaper swooped in an attempt to get the blonde. “Get in the church!” she yelled as two more Reapers appeared.

“Oh, my god. What are they? What are they?” a woman exclaimed.

“Inside!” the Doctor ordered as the humans begun to panic.

An older man tried to run away, but was pounced on by one of the Reapers and he vanished. Another woman was blocked from the church as one of the creatures stopped in front of her and she screamed. The Reaper changed its mind however, and went for an older man near her.

“Oh, for Merlin’s sake!” Tanith exclaimed in frustration before she started firing spells at the Reapers, and although they did seem to distract the creatures, the spells didn’t seem to harm them. “Get in the bloody church!” she ordered the remaining humans as she approached the church.

The moment the humans were inside, the Doctor grabbed the back of Tanith's coat and dragged her inside as well before slamming the doors closed and stopping the Reapers from entering.

Tanith rested against the door, frowning at how drained she felt before realising that as Zaly, she hadn’t had the time or experience to train as much as she once had and her powers had dwindled over time.

 _This isn’t good,_ she thought.

“They can’t get in,” the Doctor explained, “Old windows and doors. Okay. The older something is, the stronger it is. What else?” he questioned no one in particular before noticing that the humans were just standing around, “Go and check the other doors!” he ordered them, but no one moved, “Move!”

The humans were quick to follow after that and started checking the doors as the Doctor turned to Tanith, his eyebrows furrowed after having witnessed what she had done outside. Though his thoughts were quick to derail and turn to concern when he noticed how pale and tired she looked. “Tanith, what’s wrong?” he asked her.

Tanith glanced at him as she took another deep breath before letting it out slowly. “Out of practice,” she told him.

“What exactly did you-" he begun to ask, but was cut off.

“What’s happening?” an older blonde asked the Doctor, “What are they? What are they?”

“There’s been a wound in time and the Reapers are here to, eh, what’s that human term?” Tanith asked before she continued, “Ah, that’s right. Reap. They’re bacteria that live in the time vortex and when a wound in the fabric of time is made, they take advantage of it.”

“What do you mean, time?” the woman asked as Tanith frowned as her eyes narrowed on the blonde, “What're you jabbering on about, time?”

“Do I know you?” Tanith asked as she pushed off from the doors, but the blonde shook her head in the negative.

“Oh, I might’ve known you’d argue,” the Doctor cut in rudely, “Jackie, I’m sick of your complaining.”

“How do you know my name?” Jackie asked him.

“Oh, Jackie Tyler,” Tanith said before she stuck her tongue out like she tasted something fowl, “Oh, yes. Now I remember.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Tanith, though he did find her statement rather amusing, more so when Jackie got offended by her remark.

“I’ve never met you in my life!” Jackie told the pair.

“No, and you never will unless I sort this out,” the Doctor snapped, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ve waited a long time to say this. Jackie Tyler, do as I say. Go and check the doors,” he ordered her loudly.

“Yes, sir,” Jackie said before doing just that.

“I should have don’t that ages ago,” the Doctor murmured.

“Oh, hope she doesn’t remember that,” Tanith said with a snicker, “Be terrible if she ended up as your mother-in-law.”

The Doctor's head snapped to her and he glared at Tanith. “Zaly, not now. And Rose is _not_ my girlfriend,” he snapped before he paused, having realised what he had just called her.

He pointed at her when Tanith raised an eyebrow before he frowned, “You said the wound in time was the reason you’re here. What did you mean by that?” he asked her, rather confused as to how it was possible, more so when he realised that he couldn’t sense another Time Lord, or Lady in her case.

“Well, it’s quite simple when you think about it,” Tanith said before they were interrupted by a man dressed in a suit approaching them.

“My dad was out there,” the man said.

“You can mourn him later. Right now we’ve got to concentrate on keeping ourselves alive,” the Doctor told him rudely, having found his interruption annoying.

“My dad had-"

“There’s nothing we can do for him,” the Doctor cut him off, pointing at Tanith when she went to say something, causing her to close her mouth with a raised eyebrow.

“No, but he had this phone thing,” the man continued as he held up a brick phone, “I can’t get it to work. I keep getting this voice.”

Tanith took the phone off him and held it up to her ear.

_“Watson, come here. I need you. Watson, come here. I need you.”_

“That’s Alexander Graham Bell,” Tanith remarked as she handed the phone to the Doctor to have a listen.

“The very first phone call,” the Time Lord agreed, “I don’t think the telephone’s going to be much use,” he told the man.

“But someone must have called the police,” the man stated.

“Police and help you now. No one can. Nothing in this universe can harm those things,” he continued, causing Tanith to furrow her eyebrows in thought, “Time’s been damaged and they’ve come to sterilize the wound,” he looked to Rose, “By consuming everything in sight.”

“Is this because?” the blonde swallowed, “Is this my fault?” she asked.

The Doctor continued to stare at her for a moment longer before turning back to Tanith, only to find the red head deep in thought.

\----

“There’s smoke coming up from the city but no sirens,” Pete told the Doctor as they stood by a window in the vestry a little while later, “I don’t think it’s just us. I think these things are all over the place. Maybe the whole world.”

The Doctor didn’t answer as he watched a beige car appear at a corner on the road outside the window. The same beige car that should have killed Pete earlier. The car turned and the driver covered his face before the car disappeared again.

“Was that a car?” Pete asked the Time Lord.

“It’s not important,” the Doctor told him, though Tanith's words echoed in his mind. He would fix this, he just had to find a way. “Don’t worry about it,” he continued before walking away, pausing when he noticed Tanith watching them.

She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor before turning away and back towards the front doors of the church.

The Doctor frowned before he followed, wanting to get to the bottom of why she was here, or even how.

He had checked Zaly Pond over for any injuries after she had appeared in the TARDIS and found that except for increased brainwave activity, she was a normal, healthy human, and after learning about her repressed memories helped to answer that increase.

But it didn’t explain how she was now claiming to _be_ Tanith. He had not sensed another Time Lord or Lady in what felt like an eternity and was rather baffled as to how the human was claiming to be someone whom he had believed to be long dead.

“So, have you figured out how to fix this yet?” Tanith questioned as she sat down in a pew.

The Doctor's frown deepened as he sat down next to her. “Not yet,” he admitted, causing the red head to sigh. “But I will,” he added quickly.

Tanith pinched the bridge of her nose as she watched Peter and Rose talk. It had taken her a while to realise what she was doing here, and although she immediately wanted to be somewhere else, dealing with things she felt long overdue, this situation was critical and had to be fixed.

“You always picked the good ones, didn’t you?” she questioned, glancing at the Doctor. She couldn’t help but ask, having seen the way Rose seemed to just walk into trouble.

“She didn’t know,” the Doctor replied.

“Well, I hope you figure something out soon,” Tanith remarked as she turned back to Rose and Pete, “Otherwise I’m going to have to end this.”

“No one is going to die,” the Doctor hissed at her.

“Oh, of course not,” Tanith said as she looked to him, her eyebrow quirked, “All those billions of humans out there are just playing a very good game of hide and seek. Evolution must have hit them very fast, because I can’t seem to find them. I wonder if it’s camouflage or invisibility,” she said as she pretended or think about it.

“Is this just some big game to you?” the Doctor questioned as he stood up and glared at her, “What would your mother think of the way you’re acting, cause I know she would be sorely disappointed in you right now.”

Tanith was on her feet in an instant and the Doctor took a step back in shock when he felt the pressure around her drop as she glared at him. He had thought when he first met Zaly that she was angry, but that was nothing compared to what he could feel rolling off Tanith right now.

“Don’t you dare speak of my mother,” she snapped as the air around her crackled with energy, “Don’t you dare speak to me about how she would feel. If it wasn’t for this infernal species you seem so fond of, she would be here right now instead of me,” her hands clenched as she tried to pull back her emotions, “You have one chance, Doctor.”

Tanith spun on her heel and walked away, leaving the Doctor to stare after her in shock before he swallowed heavily.

He had no idea what had happened to Serenity and Tanith and to hear that Serenity was dead, although it wasn’t new information, it still hit him hard. Especially coming from her daughter. But his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to figure out what Tanith had meant.

Had it been humans that had killed Serenity, and if so, why? And what had Tanith meant by Serenity would have been here instead?

“Ah, excuse me, Mister?” the man from earlier spoke as he hesitantly approached the Doctor having witnessed the argument he had just had with the red head.

“Doctor,” the Time Lord said as he shook his head before turning to the man.

\----

“He had no bloody right,” Tanith clenched and unclench her hands as she paced near the choir stalls, trying to calm down, “None at all,” she continued to mutter angrily to herself before sighing.

“But, he didn’t know,” she finished, sinking heavily into a chair as she hit her forehead with the palms of her hands, beyond frustrated.

The last thing she truly remembered was losing her mother. After that, it was memories that didn’t feel like hers, memories of Zaly.

They were odd, the memories she had of Zaly. The were almost like memories she had of her previous regeneration before starting at Hogwarts. Tanith knew that she and Zaly were the same person, but it didn’t feel like it.

Whatever effects had come from what Dumbledore had done after her mother had fallen to that rat, it seemed to have caused Tanith to regenerate, but not at the same time and she wondered if the bracelet her parents had created were a reason behind what had happened.

Tanith let out a groan as she buried her head in her hands, wondering why her life always seemed so bloody complicated, only to snort a moment later when she had done the same thing as Zaly before running into the Doctor the second time.

“Excuse me,” a familiar voice spoke up, causing Tanith to look up and see Jackie standing in front of her with a carrycot.

“Yes?” Tanith asked, pulling her head up to look at the woman properly.

“I, uh, I was hoping, since everyone else seemed busy, if you could watch over my daughter for a moment?” Jackie asked hesitantly.

The red head raised an eyebrow at the blonde before glancing at the carrycot, not even considering saying yes. There was no way she wanted to babysit some human, let alone the one behind all this mess to begin with, baby or not.

“It’s ok, I’ll watch her,” the Doctor spoke as he approached them.

“Oh, are you sure?” Jackie asked him, rather surprised that he would offer.

“Yeah, its fine,” the Doctor replied.

Jackie smiled before leaving baby Rose with the Time Lord. Tanith made to get up as well, but the Doctor stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder as he sat beside her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” he told her quietly, “And I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

Frowning, Tanith glanced at him before shaking her head. “You didn’t know,” she replied equally quiet.

They sat there in silence for a moment before the Doctor spoke.

“What, um,” he cleared his throat, “What did you mean before? About your mother?” he asked tentatively, not wanting to upset the red head.

Tanith didn’t say anything for a moment and the Doctor sighed as he looked away, wondering if he had asked the wrong question.

“She was killed saving me,” Tanith said softly, almost to low for the Doctor to catch, “There was a....disagreement and she....she saved me.”

“What happened?” he asked, resting a hand on hers.

Tanith frowned and moved her hand from beneath his, “It doesn’t matter,” she replied, shaking her head when the Doctor went to ask something else. “Just fix this, Doctor. The longer I am here, the more damage it will do.”

“Tanith?” the Time Lord questioned, growing confused once again. Though he could understand her reluctance to speak of what happened to Serenity, he was still unsure as to how she was here.

“I told you, Doctor. When that human,” she nodded towards the carrycot with a look of disgust, “Decided to save her precious father's life, she created a wound in time, causing a disruption within time itself. That disruption also caused the block in Zaly's mind, well, my mind to be corrupted.”

“Your mind?” the Time Lord questioned, his eyebrows creasing before they flew upwards when he realised what she was saying, “But that means....”

Tanith nodded, “Zaly and I are one and the same,” she agreed.

“But she’s human,” the Doctor frowned, “That shouldn’t be possible.”

“Of course she’s not human,” Tanith scoffed, “She just thinks she is.”

The Doctor’s frown deepened, not following and Tanith sighed.

“Zaly doesn’t remember,” she explained, “And the fact that you’ve gone and placed that wall in her mind, it means she won’t be anytime soon.”

“Wait, I stopped her, er, you from remembering?” he asked in alarm.

“Oh don’t get your panties in a twist,” Tanith told him with a roll of her eyes, “If anything, I really should be thanking you for doing it.”

The Doctor grew confused again, once more not following where Tanith was going.

“And I really thought you were the smart one,” the red head muttered, earning herself a raised eyebrow from the Doctor. “What happens to a human brain when you try and dump centuries worth of memories on it?” she questioned, trying to simplify what she was trying to say.

Frowning, the Doctor thought on her words. “The brain wouldn’t be able to handle them and it wo....oh,” his face lit up in realisation, “It would burn up.”

“Now he gets it,” Tanith declared sarcastically, although she sounded a little tired.

The Doctor looked at her in concern, but she waved him off.

“So, Zaly cant remember because it would burn her mind,” he said instead, his eyebrows creasing with worry at the prospect of what he had just figured out meant.

“Yep,” Tanith agreed, “And right now, she’s safe in here,” she tapped her temple. “I managed to protect her part of my mind when I surfaced, but I don’t know how long I can do that for,” she explained, seeing the Doctor's questioning gaze.

“But how?” he asked, “I mean....” he tugged on his ear awkwardly, unsure how to voice his question.

“I don’t know,” Tanith replied, “During the....disagreement, a friend tried to get me to leave, but I was just so angry. I....there was an explosion. The next thing I know is waking up over a pile of books with memories that were mine, but not.”

“Zaly's,” the Doctor said and Tanith nodded.

“It took me a while to figure out what was happening, but,” her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the words, “It’s like I regenerated, but I hadn’t. I was still me....”

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor murmured, unsure what else to say. He couldn’t even begin to try and understand what Tanith was going through.

“Don’t be,” the red head muttered, shaking her head, “You didn’t know what happened,” she stood up, “Have you figured out a way out of this?” she asked, changing the topic, “Or do I just go and throw Peter in front of the car you were watching earlier?”

“No!” the Doctor stood up, now angry, “No one is throwing anyone in front of a car,” he snapped, unbelieving that she would even consider doing that, “No one needs to die.”

“You really believe that, don’t you?” the red head questioned as she eyed the Doctor, “You really believe you can save everyone?” she stared at him for a moment longer, an unknown emotion flickering through her eyes before she shook her head, “Well, I’ve got news for you, Doctor. Not everyone can be saved and the moment your little blonde companion decided to push her father out of the way of that car, people have been dying all around us.”

“She didn’t know that this would happen,” the Doctor shot back, “She doesn’t know the laws of time.”

“But you did,” Tanith told him, causing the Doctor to pause, “And you still brought her back to a place where there were already a set of you two running around.”

She paused, remembering she had also run into whom she guessed to be a future regeneration of the Doctor before shaking her head. _There must have been a reason for him being there,_ she told herself, though she couldn’t help think as to why the Doctor wanted her here.

“Enough of that,” she said aloud, her eyes changing as golden particles passed over them, causing the Doctor to inhale sharply, though she took no notice. “I have about thirty minutes until the walls I’ve placed around Zaly's mind start to crumble and if you haven’t fixed it by then,” she tilted her head to the side, “I’m sorry, but I will do what is needed to be done.”

“No one needs to die,” the Doctor told her as he grabbed her arm and Tanith inhaled sharply at the action before she pulled her arm from his grip, almost as if it burned.

“You see, there's your problem, Doctor,” she said, trying to calm her rapidly beating hearts as her eyes returned to their normal dark brown, “You are so focused on saving these _precious_ humans, that you don’t even see what is happening right in front of you,” she leaned in close to whisper in his ear, “I’m already dying.”

The Doctor froze as Tanith walked away, his thoughts running a mile a minute at what she had just told him.

\----

The Doctor sat on the pew, talking to baby Rose as he kept a subtle eye on Tanith who sat a little further away, reading a book.

“Now, Rose. You’re not going to bring about the end of the world, are you? Are you?” he asked the baby sternly as he thought over what he had learnt.

He wasn’t to sure how to completely feel right now. Sure he was glad that he wasn’t the last of his kind anymore, but after hearing about what had happened to Tanith, to hear that she was essentially locked away in the mind of Zaly....he wasn’t too sure how he felt.

Then there was Peter Tyler and the mess that had been created after Rose had saved him.

Deep down, the Doctor knew Tanith was right. Having Pete die would fix everything, but there had to be another way. He knew he had to fix this as there was no way he was going to let anyone else die, including Tanith.

There was no way he wanted to lose her after just realising exactly who she was.

“I better be careful,” Rose said with a sniffle as she approached the Doctor, breaking the Time Lord from his thoughts, “I think I just imprinted myself on Mickey like a mother chicken.”

She went to pick up her younger self, but was suddenly pushed backwards by something unseen.

“I wouldn’t recommend doing that,” Tanith said as she closed the book she had been reading and glanced at Rose, who was looking to her in surprise, “The last thing we’d want to happen is for a paradox to occur and let those nasty Reapers getting inside the church,” she paused as she stood up, tucking the book away in her coat, “Unless, of course, that was what you intended all along? Which, I will admit, is a pretty good way to go about the end of the world.”

“Tanith,” the Doctor warned and she rolled her eyes.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Tanith said mockingly before looking between the pair, “Did I hurt you little girlfriends feelings?”

“I’m not his girlfriend!” Rose snapped, though Tanith only smirked at the glance the blonde gave the Doctor, “And who the hell is Tanith?” the blonde asked, looking back at the red head.

“Why, me of course,” Tanith said, pointing to herself before approaching Rose, “But I guess you didn’t know that. I believe you know me as Zaly. But enough of the introductions. You,” she poked Rose's forehead before stealing a hair of the blondes head, causing Rose to exclaim in outrage, “Don’t touch the baby,” Tanith continued as she pressed the palm of her hand on the edge of the carrycot.

There was a light emitting from her palm before it vanished, and when Tanith removed it, the hair she had taken from Rose looked to be burnt into the carrycot.

“What did you do?” the Doctor asked curiously as he took out his sonic and pointed it at the cot.

“Oh, what did I say,” Tanith said, tapping her chin as she tried to recall something. “Ah, that’s right,” she said with a grin as she looked to the Doctor. “Magic,” she told him as she made a rainbow with her hands, copying the same thing she had done as Zaly hours earlier.

The Doctor frowned as he looked between the carrycot and Tanith.

“What do you mean, magic?” Rose asked as she glared at the red head.

“Oh, how to put it?” Tanith said before she started digging around in her jacket before smirking, “There it is.”

Rose's eyes widened as Tanith pulled a book from her jacket pocket.

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” the red head continued as she tapped the cover, “Must admit that I loved the snake in this one, though I am amazed that they never found the door to the right of the statue. I always loved that library,” she muttered with a frown, “And the way they portrayed some of the professors was just a lie. McGonagall was not as uptight as Rowling made her out to be.”

“Oh, I love that story,” the Doctor commented, “Did you ever read book seven?” he asked Tanith.

“Who said it was a story?” Tanith asked him with a secretive, but sad smile, causing the Doctor to pause.

“What on Earth are you going on about?” Rose demanded.

Tanith looked at the blonde with a raised eyebrow, “Harry Potter, of course,” she said, missing the Doctor's eyes widen.

“I’m not an idiot,” Rose told Tanith.

“Well, you certainly have acted like one,” Tanith said with a raised eyebrow before she sniffed the air, “Why does it smell like burning leather?” she questioned as she looked around.


	10. Nine

Tanith glanced at the Doctor's jacket, “You wouldn’t still have that TARDIS key, would you?” she asked him before motioning towards his jacket with her hand.

Once again, the Doctor watched on as the key floated out his pocket, though he was starting to have a better understanding of how Tanith was doing what she was doing, more so that she had actually told him twice already that it was called magic.

Though how a Time Lord came to possess such powers was unknown to him.

His train of thought derailed when he noticed the TARDIS key was glowing golden. “The key!” he exclaimed in delight as he went to grab it, only for it to move out of his reach.

“Doctor, it’s bloody hot and the first thing you wanna do is touch it,” Tanith remarked in disbelief.

“Ho-how are you doing that?” Rose asked, looking at Tanith with wide eyes, but the red head didn’t take any notice of her as she watched the Doctor.

Frowning at Tanith, the Doctor quickly removed his jacket and used it to grab the key. “It’s telling me it’s still connected,” he said as he looked at the glowing key in his hand.

“Of course she is,” Tanith huffed, “I told you that you’d need it.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me why!” the Doctor snapped at her.

“Oh, and I’m sure you would have believed me,” Tanith shot back, “Half an hour ago, I was just some _human_ that had perked you interest.”

“Guys!” Rose cut in before the Doctor could respond, “What is going on?” she asked, rather confused about everything that was happening.

The Doctor stared at Tanith before he suddenly went to the pulpit as he spoke to the humans, holding up the key, “The inside of my ship was thrown out of the wound, but we can use this to bring it back. And once I’ve got my ship back,” he looked at Tanith who was watching the crowd, or more specifically, Peter Tyler, “Then I can mend everything,” he continued when she glanced at him.

Tanith rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes going to the doors closest to her when a Reaper outside bashed up against it, trying to get in. She frowned as she stepped towards the door when she noticed the wood buckle slightly under the assault and wondered how long they had until the Reaper's got inside.

 _Probably a lot longer than I have,_ she thought to herself as she could feel the walls around the part that was Zaly Pond slowly start to crack. She didn’t know how or why, but her life seemed to hang in the balance with Zaly's, and if Zaly's mind burned, so would she, and Tanith would not let that happen.

“Now, I just need a bit of power. Has anyone got a battery?” the Doctor asked.

“This one big enough?” Stewart the groom asked the Doctor, holding up his dad’s brick mobile.

“Fantastic,” the Doctor remarked with a grin.

“Good old dad,” Stewart said as he handed the phone to the Doctor, “There you go.”

“Just need to do a bit of charging up and then we can bring everyone back,” the Doctor explained as he pulled out his screwdriver.

Tanith placed her hand against the door as the Reaper continued to batter against it and frowned. She moved her hand to the right, and the creature seemed to hit where her hand was. She then moved her hand to the left, only to have the same result.

“They can tell someone’s age,” she muttered to herself as she recalled how one of the creatures had avoided the woman who was getting married in favour of the older vicar.

Furrowing her brows, Tanith looked to the Doctor, “And the older someone is, the stronger they are,” she muttered as her thoughts turned troubled.

\----

“Right, no one touches that key,” the Doctor told everyone after he had placed it in mid-air, causing the TARDIS to start to fade in and out around it, “Have you got that? Don’t touch it. Anyone touches that key, it’ll be, well, zap. Just leave it be and everything will be fine. We’ll get out of here. All of us. Stuart, Sarah you’re going to get married, just like I said.”

Tanith frowned as she watched the TARDIS start to materialise before she approached it. She circled the box as she muttered under her breath, making sure not to get too close as she held her hand out towards it, placing a ward around it.

The Doctor might trust these humans, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

When she was finished, Tanith started to feel light-headed and made her way over to a pew, needing to sit down. She knew that using her magic would weaken her more quickly, but if this plan of the Doctor's was going to work, she would help him.

 _Even if he is a pain in the arse,_ she thought.

“Think of the devil and he shall appear,” Tanith muttered as the Doctor came over and sat beside her.

“Are you okay?” the Time Lord questioned, looking at Tanith in concern.

He had watched her circle the TARDIS and her steps becoming more unsteady as she did so. He was uncertain as to what she did, but he knew that she had done something to protect the TARDIS as the moment she finished, he could faintly see a force field of some kind around his ship.

“How long will she take to get here?” Tanith questioned, not answering his. Whether or not she was okay was not any of his concern, but she needed to know if the TARDIS will return in time or if the Doctor's chance was up.

The red head wasn’t even sure if what the Doctor wanted to do would save her.

The Doctor frowned at Tanith before he looked to his ship and sighed, “Shouldn’t be too long now,” he told her, realising she wasn’t going to talk to him about how she was doing. He couldn’t really blame her, though. Ever since all this mess had started, he really hadn’t been making a great impression. He glanced back at Tanith, “What did you do to the carrycot earlier, with Rose's hair?”

Tanith shrugged, “Just a simple ward. Would have used blood, but I doubt blondie would accept me asking her if I could have some of hers,” Tanith rolled her eyes at the Doctor's expression, “It wasn’t anything harmful. All I did was stopped her from touching her younger self. The last thing we need is a paradox on top off all this mess,” she told him as she noticed Rose and Pete come over to them.

“Look,” the Doctor said, drawing her gaze away from Pete as the pair sat behind them, “I’m sorry, okay. I should never have done what I did. I should never have taken Rose-"

“I don’t want you apologies, Doctor,” Tanith cut him off as she shook her head, “Just get this mess sorted out,” she told him as she stood up. Closing her eyes against her head spinning, Tanith took a deep breath before opening them and walking away, glancing at Pete as she did so.

 _Before I have to,_ she added mentally to herself.

\----

Tanith made her way over to a window and rested against the wall next to it as she closed her eyes.

The Time Lady knew she didn’t have much longer before the walls protecting Zaly crumbled and as she watched the TARDIS slowly materialize, Tanith also knew that what ever the Doctor had planned was going to take too long.

Though, she wasn’t too sure what to make of the Doctor. The only things she had heard about the Time Lord had been from her mother, or on the rare occasions she saw her uncle. Though after meeting the man, she wasn’t certain what truths they spoke of.

And then there had been what she had felt before, when he had grabbed her arm. Tanith knew that her armband stopped him from sensing her, though it was also the reason Zaly didn’t know she wasn’t human, but it hadn’t been until she tapped into the powers she had learnt at the Academy that she felt it.

The pull to the Doctor had shocked her, not having expected it at all and it made her wonder why it was there. The only person she had felt anything like that with had been Severus, and that had almost destroyed their relationship.

But Tanith didn’t even know the Doctor, let alone how to feel about the pull she had felt at his touch. The intensity of it had caught her off guard and she couldn’t help but want to talk with her friend, Valencia about it.

It wasn’t something she could talk with Regulus or Lucius about, and there was no way she’d even approach the topic with Severus, knowing how he still felt towards her....what she still felt towards him.

 _And then there is Mels,_ the red head thought with a sigh as she rubbed a hand over her face, feeling as though the drama she had with Severus didn’t seem so bad right now.

“....you her dad? How old were you, twelve? Oh, that’s disgusting,” Jackie's voice cut through Tanith’s musings, her voice clearly holding her disgust.

The red head opened her eyes before pushing herself away from the wall as she watched the argument unfold between Rose's mother and father.

 _This might be easier to fix than I thought,_ the red head thought as she started heading towards the group, rather amused by the argument.

She couldn’t help but think that if she was either going to die, or have to kill someone before that happened, she could at least have a few moments to enjoy some chaos before either happened.

The only thing that would have made this situation even better was if her friend Valencia was there with her.

“Jackie, listen. This is Rose,” Pete told his wife.

“Rose? How sick is that,” Jackie spat, “You give my daughter a second hand name? How many are there?” she demanded, “Do you call them all Rose?”

 _Oh, Val would definitely wish she was here,_ Tanith thought as she continued to approach the group.

A small smile appeared on her face at the thought of her friend, though it turned sad when she realised she had no idea what had happened to the half vampire after Dumbledore had attacked her.

“Oh, for God’s sake, look. It’s the same Rose!” Pete told Jackie before taking baby Rose from Jackie’s arms and handing her to the adult Rose.

“Shit!” Tanith exclaimed as she moved forwards, wanting to kick herself for getting distracted. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on the past.

“Rose! No!” the Doctor shouted at the same time before he snatched baby Rose away, but Tanith knew it was too late as the Time Lord handed the baby back to Jackie.

A Reaper appeared inside the church and the humans started to scream.

“Everyone, behind me!” the Doctor said as he stepped forwards, “I’m the oldest thing in here.”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Tanith growled as she rushed forwards. There was no way in hell she was gonna be stuck here with these humans, and if the Doctor did succeed in his plan, there was one way she could guarantee she survived.

“Tanith!” the Doctor shouted as she pushed past him.

With every ounce of energy she had left, Tanith held up her hands as the Reaper went for her, only to hit an invisible wall. She gritted her teeth as she continued to try and stop the Reaper, pushing everything she had into her shield, but could already tell that her attempt was futile.

Taking a deep breath, Tanith dropped her arms and turned to the Doctor, her spell ending the second she did so.

“Finish this,” she told him, before the Reaper took her.

“No!” the Doctor shouted as the Reaper circled the room before hitting the now unwarded TARDIS and both the TARDIS and the Reaper vanished.

The Doctor continued to stare at the spot Tanith had been not a moment ago as the TARDIS key fell to the floor.

Rose ran over to the key and picked it up. “It’s cold. The key’s cold,” Rose told them, “Oh, my god, she’s dead. The TARDIS is dead. This is all my fault.”

The Doctor drowned out his companions voice the moment she held no sympathy for the loss of Tanith. He may have not really known the red head, but she was one of his kind, and because him and his companion, she was gone.

The Time Lord looked to Pete and frowned, knowing that Tanith had been right all along. He just hadn’t wanted to lose anyone else, and now she had paid the price for his stupidity.

 _Finish this,_ her voice echoed in his mind.

But as much as the Doctor knew she was right, he didn’t know if he could take a life.

\----

Pete approached the Doctor who had been sitting down on one of the pew's, staring blanking ahead at nothing in particular.

“She knew, didn’t she?” he asked the Time Lord, having just watched a beige car from a window driving around a corner again and again.

The same beige car that had almost hit him earlier.

“Knew what?” the Doctor asked, looking to the man.

“I’m not stupid,” Pete told the Doctor, “I shouldn’t have survived that accident, right?”

The Doctor sighed, “No, you shouldn’t have,” he admitted.

“And Ten, uh, Tanith knew, didn’t she? And you did too. You saw it earlier but told me it was nothing,” Pete continued.

The Doctor didn’t say anything, but his silence told Pete everything he needed to know.

“Why did you stop her?” Pete questioned, not having missed the way the pair had been arguing earlier, nor the way Tanith had been looking at him like he was some old piece of gum stuck on the bottom of her shoe.

“Because I thought I could fix this without anyone dying,” the Doctor told him.

“And yet, she’s dead,” Pete stated flatly, causing the Doctor to glare at him. He just shook his head however, unaffected by the Time Lords gaze. “She meant something to you, didn’t she?” he questioned.

“In a way, yes,” the Doctor replied vaguely, looking away from Pete.

“Do you care for her?” Pete continued to question the Doctor.

The Doctor frowned as he looked to where Tanith had disappeared.

He wasn’t to sure what he felt for Tanith. Sure, there was a connection there, but that was because she was a Time Lady. Other than that, however, the Doctor didn’t really know her at all.

Sure, she and Zaly held some very similar traits to her uncle, but other than that, he wasn’t too certain what to make of the red head.

“That’s all I needed to know,” Pete said as Rose approached them, seeing something in the Doctor's expression that the Time Lord himself didn’t even know was there.

“What are you two talking about?” the blonde asked, noticing the Doctor looking to her father in confusion.

Pete turned to his daughter, “He never wanted to tell you, to have to go through it again,” he explained, “Not if there was another way. But Tanith was right, there wasn’t any other way.”

“What do you mean, Tanith was right?” Rose demanded, wondering how the red head, whoever the hell she was, could still be bothering her after she was gone.

Pete frowned at her daughter, “The car that should have killed me, love. It’s here,” he explained, “Tanith and the Doctor worked it out way back, but he, er,” Pete glanced at the Time Lord who was watching the pair, “He wanted to protect me.”

“Pete,” the Doctor said as he stood up.

“But he’s not in charge anymore,” Pete injected, ignoring the Doctor, “I am.”

“But you can’t,” Rose cried, realising what her father was going to do.

The Doctor sighed, looking away as he felt torn.

A part of him couldn’t help but agree with what Pete was about to do, what Tanith should have done all along. But another part of him didn’t want to see anyone else die.

 _But you always knew this would be the outcome,_ his traitorous mind told him, and the Doctor couldn’t help but agree. Even Tanith had known that Pete Tyler dying was going to be the only way to fix this.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Pete told the Doctor as he laid a hand on the Time Lord's shoulder, breaking him from his thoughts. “And don’t blame Tanith. She was only trying to do what she thought was right.”

The Doctor frowned as he looked to Pete, seeing Rose in her mother’s arms. “I’m sorry, Pete,” he said.

“Don’t be. How many people can say they got to spend a few extra hours with their daughter,” Pete told him before looking to his wife, “I’m meant to be dead, Jackie. You’re going to get rid of me at last.”

“Don’t say that,” Jackie said.

The Doctor frowned as he walked away, leaving the man to say goodbye to his family in private. He wasn’t to sure whether to be glad that Pete was choosing to do this himself, or upset. But as the Doctor looked to where Tanith had been, he realised he was more glad of the outcome if it meant she would be back.

The Doctor suddenly paused, realising something.

 _If Pete is fixing the wound in time, the block on Zaly's mind will be fixed as well,_ he thought, knowing that there was now a high possibility that either way, he was still losing Tanith. His brows furrowed as he mulled over that thought, wondering if there was a reason as to why Zaly couldn’t remember anything.

_I managed to protect her part of my mind when I surfaced, but I don’t know how long I can do that for._

“But does that mean Zaly could remember over time?” the Doctor murmured to himself.

Tanith had never mentioned using a Chameleon Arch and had even told him that her memories are still in there, just hidden from Zaly to stop her mind from burning up.

“But what could have caused that?” he continued to mutter, at a loss as to what had happened to Tanith.

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard a groan and he looked to where Tanith had been taken, only to see her kneeling on the floor before collapsing.

“Tanith!” he breathed, rushing over to her.

\----

“Easy there, Tanith,” the Doctor muttered as he got her to rest against his chest before scanning her with the sonic.

“Doc, don’t mean to be rude, but why in God’s name are we in a church?” the red head questioned as she blearily looked around before her head fell back to rest on the Doctor's shoulder.

“Zaly?” the Doctor asked hesitantly.

Zaly opened her eyes and peered at the Doctor, “Who in blazes name would I be?” she asked before groaning as she felt as though she had splitting headache.

The Doctor sighed, frowning slightly as he realised he’d been correct in his assumption. “Just, just take it easy, Zaly. You might have a bit of a headache.”

“Ah bit,” Zaly snapped before groaning again, “Ok, talking bad. I think I’m gonna sleep,” she murmured before passing out in the Doctor’s arms.

“Zaly!” the Doctor exclaimed before realising that she was just sleeping, having gotten the results from the sonic and let out a sigh of relief.

Apart from a pounding headache and probably some slight confusion, he knew the red head would be fine with some rest. Though he also knew that he would be keeping a close eye on her in case there was any unforseen side-effects from having Tanith ‘surfaced’ for so long.

Scooping the red head up, the Doctor headed to the church doors, feeling a mix of relief and sadness at the sight of Rose kneeling next to her father on the road.

The beige car that had hit him had stopped not far away, the driving looking to be only a young adult.

Rose kissed her father in farewell before standing up and looking towards the Doctor. She frowned when she noticed the red head in the Doctor's arms, but was too upset to care.

They didn’t say anything as the Doctor and Rose walked back to the TARDIS that had reappeared across the road, and the moment they stepped inside, the Doctor went straight to the med bay.

Rose once again couldn’t help but glare at the red head in the Doctor's arms as he left, but this time for a different reason.

Tanith, Zaly, whatever her name was, had known all along her father was going to die, but didn’t do anything to try and stop it.

\----

A few hours later, the Doctor was once again sitting beside Zaly as she lay in a bed in the med bay.

He had checked to see that there weren’t any side-effects from Tanith having been present in her mind, and was surprised to notice that not only was the wall in her mind that contained her memories of being Tanith still there, but there was also traces of what he guessed was her own magic helping to reinforce the block.

He wondered if it had been Tanith herself that had done so, or if it was remnants of when the Time Lady had protected Zaly from being burned up from the centuries of memories that were present while Tanith had surfaced.

He rather wished he could speak with Tanith about how this had happened, but he doubted it would end well.

Knowing that she had protected the part that was Zaly in her mind, the Doctor understood that she had done it for a reason. What ever had happened for Zaly to forget who she was, what she was, had been serious enough to kill her if she remembered to quickly.

The Doctor froze in his seat as a small flair of hope ignited at that thought.

“But she could still remember,” he muttered as he eyed the red head before his eyes drifted to the computer screen, showing the scan he had done earlier, and his brows furrowed.

“Tanith said she wasn’t human,” he murmured as he got up to check the scans once again, not able to figure out why it was showing Zaly as one hundred percent human.

He looked to the red head as he pulled out his sonic, scanning her for anything that could be disrupting or altering his scans.

Coming up with nothing, the Doctor frowned before he changed the settings on his sonic.

Scanning her once again, but aiming for anything that was similar to the traces of magic he had found in the wall in Zaly's mind, the Doctor grinned when his sonic alerted him to something.

Moving to the red head, the Doctor carefully pulled up the right sleeve of Zaly's jacket, revealing an armband that sat half way up her forearm.

He looked at it curiously, noting the intricate design that was a mix of both human and Time Lord and couldn’t help but marvel at how much time and effort had been put into making it.

He ran his sonic over it, wanting to get a good idea as to how the band worked, before placing his sonic aside.

The Doctor glanced up to Zaly’s face before looking back to the armband, needing to confirm his theory.

He took a deep breath before sliding the piece of jewellery off Zaly's arm, exhaling heavily when the moment it had been removed, he could sense her and the Doctor closed his eyes in disbelief.

Tanith had told him the truth and after not having sensed another of their species in what felt like forever, the Doctor almost missed something vital. Something that changed his view on exactly who Tanith was.

“Impossible,” he breathed, his eyes snapping open as he dropped Zaly's hand as he took a step away from her.

But what he was feeling could not be falsified.

He swallowed, staring at Zaly for a moment before his attention was drawn to the monitor that was continuously checking the red heads vitals as it changed, now taking in her extra heart and slight drop in temperature.

It too, only confirmed what he was feeling, although he frowned. It did not matter if he felt drawn to the red head if she couldn’t remember who she was, and as he looked down to the armband in his hand, the Doctor felt almost slighted.

The one person he had never thought he’d meet, the one he was drawn to was also the one person who would die if she remembered exactly who she was.

There was a small voice in his mind that told him Zaly could remember, but the Doctor took no notice as he stared at the red head, his finger running over the writing inscribed on the inside her armband.

He frowned, glancing at the writing, but before he could read what it said, he was interrupted when the monitor taking Zaly's vitals started beeping wildly, alerting him as it started to pick up her increased heartrates.

His eyes snapped to Zaly and grew alarmed when he noticed her face was scrunched up in confusion before she jerked in the bed, her expression becoming pained.

His eyes darted from Zaly to the monitor, before lastly resting on the band in his hand, quickly realising why Tanith wore it.

Even unconscious, her body, and quite possibly her mind at a subconscious level would have noticed the sudden change and unfamiliarity of having a second heart.

The monitor continued to beep as the Doctor was quick to place the band back on Zaly's arm, inhaling sharply as both her presence and the pull he felt to her vanished, but he pushed through the feelings of loss he was once again overcome with.

He needed to be sure she was going to be okay and that having removed her armband hadn’t done any damage. The Time Lord didn’t know what he would do if he found out that in removing the band, he had harmed her in anyway.

The monitor stopped beeping wildly as Zaly's heartrate decreased. Her second heart was no longer being picked up and her temperature had returned to what was considered normal for humans.

The Doctor sighed in relief before he placed a gentle hand on Zaly's cheek. “Last time, Zaly,” he murmured before adding his second hand to the other side of her face, shifting the first so that both were splayed on either side of her face.

Not a second later, he slipped into her mind, needing to make sure that there hadn’t been any damage to the wall that was hiding who she truly was.

There was a small smile on his face as he exited her mind, having found nothing wrong mentally and he dropped heavily into the chair behind him.

His gaze fell onto the band that wrapped around her forearm before shaking his head.

As much as he hated the emptiness in his mind, the Doctor would not put the last Time Lady in existence at risk because he selfishly wanted to feel another's presence.

And he wouldn’t dare risk losing the one who called to him as she did, even if he couldn’t feel the pull while she wore the band.

 _No,_ the Doctor thought as he looked at Zaly as she rested, _Knowing she's alive is enough._


	11. Ten

Zaly groaned as she opened her eyes, blinking in confusion when she realised she was once again in the med bay.

“Take it slowly, Zaly,” a voice that was becoming very familiar to the red head spoke up and she turned her head towards the Doctor.

“I think we need a better meeting place, Doc,” she muttered before looking to the ceiling, frowning as she tried to remember what had brought her here this time.

The Time Lord rolled his eyes as her response, but couldn’t stop his lip from twitching upwards, relieved that she seemed to be on the mend....if her sarcasm was anything to go by.

“We really should,” he admitted before he noticed her face crease in pain. “Zaly, what's wrong?” he asked, standing up and pulling out his sonic, worried he might have missed something.

“Wha-what happened?” she questioned as the monitor started to pick up her quickening heartrate the moment she realised she couldn’t remember anything after running into the Eleventh Doctor.

“Zaly, you need to take it easy,” the Doctor warned as he checked her with the sonic and noticing that it was picking up an increase in her brain activity.

“I....I,” Zaly’s eyebrows creased in confusion, “Why can’t I remember?” she asked.

“Just try and relax, Zaly” the Time Lord tried again as he stepped up beside her, “I-"

“Doctor! If you don’t tell me what happened, by the gods I will-" Zaly snapped before she gasped, clutching her head as pain lanced through her mind.

“Zaly, you need to calm down and listen to me,” the Doctor told her sternly as he gently moved her head so she was looking at him, “There was a fracture in time and it affected the wall in you mind. You just need to relax, okay. The more you try and remember what happened, the more you’re going to hurt yourself.”

Zaly frowned as she stared at the Doctor, not really believing him. But as the pain slowly receded and her breaths even out, the red head could admit that, for whatever reason, he was telling her the truth.

Why she couldn’t remember however, Zaly wanted to find out and after once again finding herself somewhere after, what she guessed to be another ‘episode', that curiosity burned.

The Doctor sighed, seeing Zaly beginning to relax and when he glanced at the monitor, seeing Zaly's vitals had returned to normal, he felt even more relieved.

“Sooo, Doc,” Zaly drawled slowly, causing the Doctor to look back at her.

“What on Earth was that for?!” the Time Lord demanded with a glare as his hand went to the cheek she had just slapped and rubbed it tenderly.

“That was for dropping me off in the wrong time,” Zaly told him as she shook her hand as it stung. “I told you I wanted to go home, to when you picked me up. Not bloody nineteen years in the past. What kind of bloody time traveller are you?”

The Doctor opened his mouth to respond, to tell Zaly they’d had this conversation twice before, but snapped his mouth closed when he realised she must not remember it. He frowned as he continued to rub his cheek, wondering what it was with women and slapping him.

Zaly slid off the bed and stood up before stretching. “Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ve had enough laying around to last me a lifetime. I need a shower,” she said as she looked to the Doctor, “You don’t happen to have showers on board, do you?”

The Doctor was about to respond, but his ship let out a hum and the med bay door opened and arrows appeared on the floor, leading out of the room and down a corridor.

Zaly looked to the roof with a raised eyebrow, “Still a little creepy,” she muttered before following the directions. “Do you listen to everyone’s conversations?” the red head asked the ship as she left the med bay.

The Doctor watched her leave, his eyebrows furrowed as his ship let out another hum in response to Zaly's question.

He still had no idea why Zaly couldn’t remember who she was, but the facts were there and for what ever reason, she truly believed she was human, which meant that her mind believed she was as well.

That also told the Time Lord that Zaly remembering her past was going to take time.

 _I just hope she will remember before it kills her,_ the Doctor thought before he too left the med bay, trying to work out a way to help the red head realise who she was without the possibility of burning her mind up in the process.

And as he wandered back to the console room, he vowed that he would do whatever it took to help Zaly, and Tanith.

He was _not_ going to lose them and knew full well that he would do anything to make sure that however she remembered, he would be there to help along the way.

\----

The Doctor looked up from the console, his eyebrows furrowed as he noticed Zaly was still staring at him.

She had been doing it for the last fifteen minutes and he was getting rather uncomfortable. More so since during that whole time the red head hadn’t said a single word.

The silence at first had been a relief.

Where Tanith seemed focused on the task at hand and generally left him alone, Zaly seemed to have decided that tormenting him was her thing to do, whether by insulting him or just being a complete smart arse in general.

But after fifteen minutes of silent staring, it had become unnerving to the Doctor and a part of him wanted her to say something just to break the unsettling atmosphere.

He hadn’t realised at first just how similar Zaly was to her uncle, without the whole trying to kill him factor. She reminded him of the Master and how he was like back when they had attended the Academy together. Though it did make him curious to know who her father was, but the Doctor doubted he would find out any time soon.

The red head smirked internally, noticing the Doctor had grown increasingly uncomfortable as he went back to trying to do whatever it was he was doing to the console.

Although she was keen to get home, there was a very large part of her that couldn’t deny that she was enjoying how she could make the alien uncomfortable and wondered curiously how long it would take the Time Lord to crack.

She didn’t move a muscle as the Doctor made his way around the console, doing his best not to look in her direction as he put the time rotor between them. But the moment he was out of Zaly's direct line of sight, the smirk that she had been fighting down appeared on her lips.

The Doctor frowned as he looked to the console, trying to focus on something....anything that would distract him, but he found himself glancing around the time rotor and to the red head across from him, only to find her still watching him, though now she had a bloody smirk on her face.

“What?” he snapped with a scowl, unable to take the silence for a second longer, but realised his mistake the moment the word passed his lips.

“Well,” the red head drawled slowly, drawing the word out as an eyebrow raised, “I was wondering what the possibility was of you actually getting me home on the correct date if I asked.”

The Time Lord glared at her, wishing he had just kept his mouth shut. _Infuriating human,_ he thought before moving to the scanner, only to hesitate when he realised what she was asking.

The Doctor knew that Zaly had no idea who she was, let alone that she was a Time Lady, and with the armband she wore, it made it easy for him to forget that sometimes. Just as it made it easy for him to almost forget the pull he had felt after he had taken it off her.

He briefly wondered if Tanith had felt it as well before shaking the thought away. Whether or not it was there didn’t matter right now. Zaly had no idea about any of it, and as much as he wanted her to stay, he couldn’t force her.

He frowned, looking to the scanner as he asked, “Do you want to go home?”

The Doctor felt rather torn about what he hoped she would say. On one side, he didn’t want her to leave knowing who she was and what she was, but the other side wanted to drop Zaly Pond off home and never return.

“That depends on if you actually know how to fly this ship,” Zaly replied, her eyebrow raising as the TARDIS let out what she guessed to be a humorous hum.

The red head still found it a little odd that she was standing inside a telepathic spaceship, but couldn’t really deny that the ship did seem okay. It hadn’t done anything wrong to her, and it did seem to enjoy tormenting the Doctor as much as she did.

“Of course I do!” the Doctor shot back, only to be almost thrown off his feet when the TARDIS suddenly jerked sideways.

“What the fuck was that!” Zaly shouted at the Time Lord as she held onto the console.

The Doctor quickly checked the scanner before rushing around the console as he piloted the ship.

“Doctor, what the hell are you doing?” Zaly demanded as he passed her.

“What’s the emergency?” Rose asked as she stumbled into the console room.

“It’s mauve,” the Doctor explained.

“Mauve? Sure, that explains everything!” Zaly drawled and the Doctor glared at her.

“The universal recognised colour for danger,” the Doctor snapped at her.

Zaly narrowed her eyes on the Doctor. “Yes, and I’m sure that a species that had travelled as far as the bloody moon knows the universal colour for danger, Doc,” she said sarcastically.

“What happened to red?” Rose questioned, shooting Zaly a glare.

“That’s just humans,” the Doctor told the blonde as he continued to pilot the TARDIS, “By everyone else’s standards, red’s camp. Oh, the misunderstandings. All those red alerts, all that dancing.”

“Oh, that’s bloody wonderful. Nice to know while we were in danger, you aliens were enjoying your camps,” Zaly snapped, “Just tell us why or what is mauve.”

The Doctor once again glared at the red head as he spoke, “It’s got a very basic flight computer. I’ve hacked in, slaved the TARDIS. Where it goes, we go.”

“That doesn’t sound very safe, Doc,” Zaly muttered as she looked at the time rotor, “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“Totally,” the Doctor remarked, only for a part of the console that was near him to explode in a shower of sparks, “Okay, reasonably. Should have said reasonably there,” he told them, only to glance at the monitor and panic when he realised something was wrong. “No, no, no, no! It’s jumping time tracks, getting away from us.”

“What exactly is this thing?” Rose asked him.

“No idea,” the Doctor responded.

Zaly looked at him in outrage, “And then why in God’s name are we bloody chasing it?”

The Doctor looked at her, “It’s mauve and dangerous, and about thirty seconds from the centre of London.”

Zaly blinked. “Okay, then. Chase away,” she muttered.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, but did just that.

\----

The TARDIS materialised in a back alley between two terraces.

“Do you know how long you can knock about space without happening to bump into Earth?” the Doctor questioned as he, Zaly and Rose stepped out of the ship.

“Five days?” Rose replied, “Or is that just when we run out of milk?”

“Of all the species in the universe and it has to come from a cow,” the Time Lord complained.

“Or goats and almonds,” Zaly piped up as she looked around, her brows furrowing and the hairs on the back of her neck raising when she got the sensation that they were being watched. Her hand slipped into her coat pocket and to her gun as she followed the other two.

The Doctor decided to just ignore her comment. “Must have come down somewhere quite close. Within a mile, anyway,” he changed the subject back to why they were there, “And can’t have been more than a few weeks ago. Maybe a month.”

“Called it,” the red head exclaimed, earning a confused look from both Rose and the Doctor. “What?” she asked, but they just continued onwards.

“A month?” Rose asked, looking to the Doctor, “We were right behind it.”

“It was jumping time tracks all over the place,” the Doctor defended himself, shooting Zaly a glare, “We’re bound to be a little bit out. Do you want to drive?” he questioned before quickly adding, cutting Zaly off when she opened her mouth, “No! Don’t even answer that.”

“How much is a little?” Rose asked, frowning at the pair.

“A bit,” the Doctor replied vaguely.

“Oh, and is that exactly a bit?” Zaly asked sarcastically, “Or more of an ish?”

The Doctor chose not to answer, though he frowned when he noticed Zaly's hand in her pocket. _Really should have taken them back off her when I had the chance,_ he thought, not liking the red head having access to a weapon. _Then again, she does have her magic as well,_ he continued to muse, wondering if he would just see what she did with them.

Either way, Zaly was armed. But the Doctor didn’t know how dangerous she was. He could admit, however, that the only time she had actually pulled a weapon on anyone was while she had been terrified as her old memories surfaced, and adding that she had woken up in a strange place, he couldn’t really hold that against her.

 _If it hadn’t been for that signal that had thrown the TARDIS off course, she wouldn’t have woken up alone,_ he told himself, internally wincing at what had occurred at Van Statten's museum.

“What’s the plan, then?” Rose asked the Doctor, breaking him from his thoughts, ”Are you going to do a scan for alien tech or something?”

“Rose, it hit the middle of London with a very big bang. I’m going to ask,” the Time Lord explained as he withdrew his psychic paper from his coat and showing it to his companions. _Well, one companion and a tag along,_ he told himself, still unsure what to do or think about Zaly.

It would technically be her third adventure with him, and although a part of him wanted her to continue travelling with them, all she seemed to want to do was go home.

“Ah, Doc. It’s blank,” Zaly stated, looking at the blank piece of paper with furrowed brows, wondering why he carried it around.

“What?” the Doctor said in confusion, looking at the paper.

“No, it’s not,” Rose told the red head, “It’s says, Doctor John Smith, Ministry of Asteroids.”

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the pair, “And, I say its blank,” she told them before frowning at the duo, “Is this some joke or something, because it’s really terrible.”

“It’s psychic paper,” the Doctor explained to her, looking between the paper and Zaly curiously, “It tells you whatever I want it to tell you.”

“Well, either your not psychic, or that’s just a blank piece of paper,” Zaly remarked.

“Here,” the Doctor said, holding the paper out to Zaly, “Take it and think of something we wouldn’t know and then show it to me.”

Zaly eyed the Doctor, glancing at the paper before taking it off him. Thinking hard about something she knew that they wouldn't, she showed the paper to the pair.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow while Rose's face creased in confusion.

“I don’t understand it,” Rose said as she frowned at the psychic paper, only seeing a different lot of dots appear before a line started to create the outline of what looked to be a very badly join-the-dots cat.

“It’s the Cetus constellation,” the Doctor explained, eyeing Zaly curiously, “It was a sea monster in Greek mythology and is usually known as the whale. Though this one depicts what the Tukano and Kobeua people of the Amazon would have seen as they used the stars to create a jaguar. It represented the gods of hurricanes and other violent storms.”

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the Doctor before glancing at the paper, only to still see nothing. “So, why can’t I see it?” she asked as she handed the paper back.

The Doctor shrugged. Of all the things she could have thought about, he was curious to know why she had shown them that.

“Lack of imagination,” he replied with a smirk as he pocketed the paper.

“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Zaly said sarcastically as they approached a door marked ‘Deliveries Only'.

“Not very Spock, is it?” Rose asked, looking to the Doctor, still rather confused as to what she had seen on the psychic paper.

“Door, music, people. What do you think?” the Doctor asked as he pointed to the door.

“I think you should do a scan for alien tech,” Rose told him, “Give me some Spock, for once. Would it kill you?”

“High possibility,” Zaly muttered as the Doctor opened the door with his sonic.

He turned and shot the red head a look before looking at Rose’s top. “Are you sure about that t-shirt?” he asked her.

“To early to say,” Rose commented, “I’m taking it out for a spin.”

_“Mummy? Mummy?”_

Zaly frowned as she glanced around, her hand around her gun tightening a fraction as she thought she heard a child’s voice.

“Come on if you’re coming. It won’t take a minute,” the Doctor told the pair before going inside.

Zaly made to follow him, but stopped when that feeling of being watched returned.

_“Mummy?”_

“Doctor? Doctor?” Rose called when she noticed a little boy in a gas mask on a nearby roof, “There’s a kid up there!”

“Rose,” Zaly warned, though she was confused about the gas mask. She couldn’t help but think it looked quite old fashion.

“You can stay here if you want,” Rose spat at the red head before going towards the child, “Are you alright up there?” she called.

“Mummy?” the child asked.

“Rose, don’t!” Zaly shouted as the blonde suddenly ran up a metal fire escape.

She couldn’t say what it was, but something about this whole situation was just wrong, and she didn’t know why. She looked back to the nightclub entrance, unsure if she should go and get the Doctor.

She suddenly winced and covered her ears when an air raid siren sounded and Zaly cursed when she realised what that meant as she looked around.

“Doctor! Doctor! Doctor!” Rose shouted.

Zaly's head snapped towards her voice, only to curse once again when she noticed the blonde being carried away by a barrage balloon.

“Why couldn’t I have just stay at home?” Zaly bemoaned before she started following the blonde on foot, knowing that if this was the London Blitz, Rose was really in danger.

After a few streets, Zaly realised she was losing sight of Rose and looked around, for once glad that the air raid sirens had gone off, knowing that people would have moved to bunkers by now.

Concentrating on the closest roof top, she disapparated with a crack and reappeared on the roof. Looking around once more, she concentrated once again before taking off across the roof, her form changing as she went.

By the time she made it to the next roof, Zaly was no longer human and was running on all fours.

\----

On a balcony somewhere near by, an officer was looking over the London skyline with a pair of very non-WWII binoculars.

It took the man less then a minute to spot Rose's predicament.

“Get those lights out, please. Everyone down to the shelter,” he ordered.

“Jack? Are you going down to the shelter?” another officer asked, “Only I’ve got to go off on some silly guard duty,” he continued before noticing what Jack was watching, “Ah, barrage balloon, eh? Must’ve come loose. Happens now and then. Don’t you RAF boys use them as target practice?”

Jack didn’t respond as he zoomed in on Rose's behind. “Excellent bottom,” he muttered.

“I say, old man, there’s a time and a place,” the officer told him with a grin, “Look, you should really be off.”

“Sorry, old man,” he told the officer before frowning as he zoomed out, noticing something that most definitely should not be in London during WWII, or at anytime for that matter.

 _That can’t be right,_ he thought as he watched a jaguar moving quickly over rooftops. He frowned as he followed where it was heading and noticed it seemed to be following the blonde.

“I’ve got to go meet a girl,” he continued as he pocketed his binoculars, “But you’ve got an excellent bottom too,” he said as he smacked said bottom as he passed.

\----

Zaly continued to follow Rose as bombs dropped around her.

 _Of all the times to wear a Union Flag as a shirt,_ she couldn’t help but think before suddenly putting on the brakes when she realised she was out of rooftops, her claws trying to find purchase before she tumbled off the roof.

She was quick to shift back and almost as if by instinct, reappeared on the ground in a hasty apparation.

“Okay,” Zaly said slowly as she took a deep breath, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, “Rooftops don’t go on forever,” she muttered before she realised she was near Big Ben.

After another apparation to the roof she had just fallen off, as well as trying to not throw up, though she was finding that side effect occurring less and less these days, Zaly watched Rose as she continued to float towards the clock tower.

“What to do, what to do?” she muttered as she tried to find a way to save the blonde.

She didn’t really care for Rose, but the red head had a feeling that if something happened to the blonde, her chances of getting back home where slim to none.

“Or....he might take me home if something did happen to her....” Zaly told herself as she watched the blonde, trying to work out the pros and cons of saving her.

It seemed the choice was taken from her when Rose finally lost her grip on the rope and the blonde screamed as she fell, only to be stopped by a beam of light.

“Oh, that’s different,” Zaly muttered as a males voice spoke through the air and she had to concentrate to hear him.

_“Okay, okay, I’ve got you.”_

“Ooo, American,” Zaly remarked as she sat on the edge of the roof, watching from below as she tried to locate where the beam was coming from. She could hear Rose's response, but could just hear the man’s voice as he replied.

_“I’m just programming your decent pattern. Keep as still as you can and keep your hands and feet inside the light field.”_

“Light field? That sounds rather advanced. Wonder if it’s some sort of tractor beam or something,” Zaly continued to mutter before frowning, “I wonder if he was the one we were following. Time travel is still impossible during the twenty-first century, but this guy’s tech seems to be more advanced than anything from then.”

_“Oh, and could you switch off your cell phone? No, seriously, it interferes with my instrument.”_

“As if anyone believes that,” Zaly scoffed as she laid back on the roof when her neck started to hurt from looking up.

_“Thank you. That’s much better.”_

“Seriously. She actually turned her phone off?” Zaly said as she continued to search for whatever was producing the light beam.

She sat up when she got an idea. “I wonder if it would work,” she muttered.

\----

Inside Jack's spaceship, the man himself was looking at a screen showing Rose as she floated in mid-air.

 _‘The mobile communications device indicates non-contemporaneous life form,’_ his computer informed him.

“She’s not from around here, no,” he confirmed before frowning, “And the jaguar?”

 _‘Target no longer found,’_ the computer replied.

“That can’t be right,” he said with a frown, “And you’ve swept the whole area?”

_‘Affirmative. No lifeforms of the Panthera Onca species located.’_

Jack frowned before he looked back to the image of Rose. He had no idea what or why a jaguar would have been following the blonde, but that was something he could think about later.

Suddenly an alarm sounded.

 _‘Camouflage malfunction,’_ the computer told him before the alarm disappeared, _‘Camouflage reconfigured and restored.’_

“What the hell is going on?” Jack muttered before refocusing on saving the blonde, though he reminded himself to have a look at the system when she was on-board.

\----

“That’s wicked,” Zaly said as she stood up to look at the ship that had appeared out of thin air, “And I can’t believed that worked,” she continued, having focused her magic on revealing anything hidden in the air above her.

“Now, how to get up there,” she muttered with a frown as the ship disappeared from view.

\----

Zaly sighed as she laid down on the rooftop, folding her arms behind her head as she continued to work out a way to get on-board the spaceship.

It had been at least twenty minutes now and she had no idea if Rose was okay, though she didn’t really care about that. Zaly was more interested to just see what the ship was like and who the man who owned it.

Frowning, she looked towards Big Ben, only to see that it was a quarter past nine. _Wonder what the Doc is up to right now?_ she thought before her eyebrows furrowed as she continued to look at the clock tower.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Zaly huffed before she stood up and tried to remember what she knew about Big Ben.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall what she knew, focussing on any points where one could stand on the clock tower, knowing that the clock was higher than where the ship was sitting....if it was still there.

 _If I can get above it and send another spell to the ship to figure out where it is and what it looks like, I can appear on top of it,_ she thought before her eyes opened.

In another crack of apparation, Zaly was gone.


	12. Eleven

“Why did I think this was a good idea?!” the red head exclaimed as she appeared high up on the clock tower. “Rose, if that bloody ship has gone, I’m gonna kill you!”

Zaly was about to send another pulse of magic out to where the ship was, only to see a hatch or something open and a man step out onto nothing, Rose following after him.

“Oh, so now he makes the ship noticeable,” Zaly huffed when the man pressed something and the ship appeared.

Her jaw dropped in disbelief when she noticed the man open a bottle of champagne and pour it into two glasses that Rose had brought up.

“Oh, I’m so glad that she’s not in any danger,” the red head grumbled sarcastically before she focused on a point behind the pair to appear.

After making sure that the place she wanted to get to wouldn’t have her falling off the ship and also giving her the element of surprise, Zaly made herself invisible before once again disappearing with a crack.

——

 _I think I might just sit down for a moment,_ Zaly told herself and she did just that the moment she had appeared on the ship, feeling as though she was going to throw up or pass out.

Let alone that she preferred her feet on the ground and not however high she was right now, the constant apparating was also making her sick and a little light-headed.

The red head put her head in her hands as she focused on not emptying her stomach, as well as listen to what Rose and the American were talking about. Thought she was wanting to gag at their obvious flirting.

“We're discussing business,” the American said, and Zaly almost scoffed at that.

 _If this is business, then I’ve been going about it all wrong,_ she mused before wondering what Mels would think of doing business like this. Though that thought quickly left her when she realised how much she truly missed her partner.

“This isn't business. This is champagne,” Rose replied.

“I try never to discuss business with a clear head. Are you travelling alone? Are you authorised to negotiate with me?” the man asked, gaining Zaly’s attention.

 _So he is the one we were following,_ she continued to think.

“What would we be negotiating?” Rose questioned, though when Zaly finally looked toward the pair, she could tell the blonde was not really interested in talking business. That, and the American knew how to work someone without really even trying.

“I have something for the Time Agency. Something they'd like to buy. Are you in power to make payment?” the American questioned and Zaly almost did groan out loud.

 _Of course the Doc got drawn into a con,_ she mentally complained before standing up, keeping her movements silent. She had no idea if Rose knew that the man was a conman, nor did she know how dangerous he was.

“Well, I, I should talk to my companion,” Rose evaded.

“Companion?” the American asked, sounding surprised.

“Well, two, in away,” Rose told him, her nose wrinkling when she thought of Zaly, “I should really be getting back to _him_ , however,” she continued.

“Him?” the American questioned, “And whose the other?”

Zaly narrowed her eyes at the blonde. She had worked quite a few cons over the years and was not liking how much info the blonde was giving away, though she couldn’t deny that Rose, even though she may not know it was a con, was doing okay for a rookie.

“Do you have the time?” Rose asked the man, not wanting to even think about Zaly.

 _Huh, guess her dislike for me worked in my favour,_ Zaly mused with a raised eyebrow, though she drew her gun when the man produced something.

It took her a second to realise it was a remote of some kind and Zaly lowered her weapon, though kept it ready at her side, prepared for anything.

The American pressed a button on his remote and Big Ben’s clock face lit up as it struck nine thirty.

“Okay, that was flash. That was on the flash side,” Rose stated, and Zaly could admit it was quite impressive.

“So when you say your companions, just how disappointed should I be?” the man questioned.

“Okay, we're standing in mid-air,” Rose replied, and Zaly rolled her eyes.

“Mmm-hmm,” the man hummed.

“On a spaceship, during a German air raid. Do you really think now's a good time to be coming on to me?” Rose questioned and for once Zaly actually agreed with the blonde.

There was no way in hell Zaly wanted to watch them flirt.

“Perhaps not,” the man agreed.

“It was just a suggestion,” Rose quickly said and Zaly almost face-palmed.

 _What is it with this chick and flirting with unknown men?_ she wanted to shout before frowning. _What actually happened to the mutt?_ she thought, not having seen hide, nor hair of Adam since she had awoken.

The American seemed to like Rose's response as he asked her, “Do you like Glenn Miller?” as he pressed another button on the remote.

Moonlight Serenade started to play and Zaly did groan then, having quite enough. More so when the man took Rose in his arms and they started to dance.

 _Okay, this has gone on long enough,_ Zaly thought as she focused on the remote the man was using and had it flying towards her not a moment later.

“It's 1941, the height of the London Blitz, the height of the German bombing campaign, and something else has fallen on London. A fully equipped Chula warship. The last one in existence, armed to the teeth. And I know where it is, because I parked it. If the Agency can name the right price, I can get it for you. But in two hours, a German bomb is going to fall on it and destroy it forever. That's your deadline. That's the deal. Now, shall we discuss payment?” the man asked.

“Sure,” Zaly said as she raised her gun and cocked it, before cutting the music off, dropping her invisibility spell in the process.

“Zaly!” Rose exclaimed when she spotted the red head, “What are you doing?”

The American spun on the spot, drawing his own weapon and aiming it at the red head.

“Sorry to spoil the mood, but I could only take so much,” Zaly said as she held up the remote to the man, “And seriously, Moonlight Serenade? Come on, how cheesy is that?”

“How?” the man asked before patting the pocket the remote should have been in.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Zaly told him as she took a step forwards, “I’m only interested in the ship.”

“Zaly!” Rose hissed, trying to get the red head to stop.

“Well, there’s no way I’m just going to hand it over. It’s keyed into my molecular structure,” the man said as he eyed Zaly before he grinned, noticing her weapon, “And with technology like that, I don’t think you really stand a chance. I take it you’re from the twenty-first century like your companion here?” he questioned, gesturing to Rose.

“Oh, darn. You caught me,” Zaly said before throwing the remote up in the air and catching it, noticing the man twitch as she did so. “But I would have thought that someone in your field should know that looks can be deceiving,” she added as she threw the remote in the air again.

The man’s eyes widened in surprise when he noticed it stayed in the air.

“Now that I’ve got your attention, I want to know more about the ship you left in the middle of the London Blitz,” Zaly said with a smirk.

\----

Jack swallowed heavily as he eyed the red head in front of him.

His eyes flickered up to the remote that was still floating in the air and wondered how she was doing that.

“Why don’t we go and see that companion of yours?” he questioned, looking back to Zaly.

“Oh, he’s no companion of mine,” Zaly said as she looked between Rose and Jack, “I’m only wanting to get home.”

“Not that you’re trying,” Rose muttered bitterly.

Jack raised an eyebrow at the blonde, hearing her tone. “And what if I can help you do that?” he said as he looked back to the red head.

Zaly rolled her eyes at Jack, “And I’m sure that you can do that,” she said, not believing the man. He was a conman and she knew better than anyone how untrustworthy they could be.

“Look, why don’t I find her friend,” Jack said, nodding to Rose, “And then we can talk about getting you home. I just need to finish off this deal with these Time Agents and then I’m free to take you wherever you need to go.”

Zaly eyes the conman for a moment before grabbing the remote as it floated down to her, though she didn’t lower her gun. “You take us to her _friend_ ,” she said carefully, “And then you take me home.”

Jack sighed and nodded as he lowered his gun, though not completely. Whoever Zaly was, he had a feeling she knew exactly what he was doing. “I finish this deal, I’ll take you home,” he agreed.

Rose watched as Zaly continued to eye Jack, having no idea what she was up to. The blonde was glad that she may be rid of the red head soon however, but was still a little miffed about the interruption.

“It’s a deal,” Zaly said as she stepped forwards and pocketed her gun. She held her hand out to Jack and the man grabbed it.

Jack suddenly found himself on the ground a moment later, Zaly sitting on top of him as she twisted his arm behind his back painfully.

“But if I find out that you’re gonna try and con me,” Zaly whispered in Jack’s ear threateningly, her eyes flashing orange-yellow, “Know that I can make you disappear where no one would find you.”

Her last words came out in an almost growl and Jack grunted as she drove her point home by twisting his arm further.

“I swear, I finish this job, you get home,” he told her, though he couldn’t help but feel a shiver of delight go up his spine when the red head moved off him.

 _Feisty,_ he thought as he got up, eyeing the red head in a new light.

\----

“Probably too late,” the Doctor told Constantine.

“No. There are isolated cases. Isolated cases breaking out all over London,” Constantine explained before coughing.

The Doctor went to approach the man, but Constantine shook his head. “Stay back, stay back. Listen to me. Top floor. Room eight oh two. That's where they took the first victim, the one from the crash site. And you must find Nancy again,” he quickly explained.

“Nancy?” the Time Lord question, rather confused.

“It was her brother. She knows more than she's saying. She won't tell me, but she might Mummy. Are you my mummy?” Constantine said before his face started changing, beginning with his mouth before the rest of his face turned into a gasmask.

“Hello?” the Doctor heard a males voice call from the corridor.

“Hello?” a voice he recognised as Rose’s called as well.

“He better be here,” he heard Zaly’s voice and he sighed as she continued, “Cause if I find out you lied, I _will_ shoot you.”

“I scanned for alien tech,” the American stated, “And this is where it was saying it was located.”

“Will you two just knock it off!” Rose huffed and the Doctor was quick to exit the room, knowing that if he didn’t do something, Zaly would.

\----

“See, I told you!” Jack hissed to Zaly when the Doctor came into the corridor. “Good evening. Hope we're not interrupting. Jack Harkness. I've been hearing all about you on the way over,” he greeted the Time Lord.

“He knows. I had to tell him about us being Time Agents,” Rose decided to inform the confused Doctor.

“And it's a real pleasure to meet you, Mister Spock,” Jack said with a grin before motioning to Zaly, “Though I know she’s not a Time Agent. Way to feisty for a start,” he said with a wink.

“Keep pushing it mister, and I’ll show you how feisty I can be,” Zaly warned him, her eyes narrowing.

“Is that a promise?” Jack asked, only to jump when he felt a jolt pass through him and grinned.

“Depends in what I’m promising,” Zaly said as she stepped up in front of the man, “But I can tell you right now, you won’t like it.”

“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Jack murmured as he leant in closer to her, only to freeze when he heard the clicking of a gun being cocked.

“One, you’re not my type,” Zaly told him and Jack took a step away from her as her gun poked him in the stomach, “And two, I’m really starting to reconsider our agreement.”

“Okay, no flirting,” Jack said with a sigh, even though he was already thinking of ways to get through to the red head. She just seemed so....tense.

“What agreement? And who’s Mister Spock?” the Doctor questioned, feeling uncomfortable at both the man’s flirting and Zaly carrying her gun again.

 _Really should have taken it off her,_ he told himself once more.

Jack didn’t say anything as he walked forward to the ward.

“What was I supposed to say?” Rose questioned the Doctor, trying to ignore the jealousy she was feeling towards Zaly. She couldn’t understand why everyone seemed to like her. “You don't have a name. Don't you ever get tired of Doctor? Doctor who?” she continued.

“Nine centuries in, I'm coping,” the Doctor replied, ignoring the surprised look from Zaly. “Where've you been? We're in the middle of a London Blitz. It's not a good time for a stroll.”

“Nine centuries?” Zaly questioned, looking the Time Lord up and down, “Doing good, Doc,” she added with a raised eyebrow and a wink before following after Jack.

The Doctor felt his cheeks warm at her comment and cleared his throat, missing Rose's scowl directed to the red head.

Even though he couldn’t feel the pull, he knew it was there. And adding the fact that he wasn’t even too sure how he felt about Zaly, or Tanith in general, her remark made him wonder what she actually felt about him.

“Who's strolling?” Rose spoke up, still glaring at Zaly’s retreating form, “I went by barrage balloon. Only way to see an air raid.”

“What?!” the Doctor exclaimed, breaking out of his thoughts.

“Listen, what's a Chula warship?” Rose asked, ignoring his exclamation, rather glad she had gotten the Doctor’s attention.

“Chula?” the Time Lord questioned before looking back into the ward where Jack and Zaly were.

\----

Zaly frowned as she walked around the ward, noticing all the patients all looked to be wearing gas masks. But upon further investigation, she couldn’t help but notice that each mask looked fused to the patients faces, as well as looking exactly like mask the little boy had been wearing, but considering the year, it was quite plausible as to why.

 _Never know when the Germans will start using chemical weapons,_ the red head mused as she stepped closer to a patient, looking curiously at the face, wondering how the mask had been fused to the face, not seeing any signs of burns.

“This isn’t possible,” Jack spoke up as he scanned a patient with a device around his wrist, “How did this happen?”

“What kind of Chula ship landed here?” the Doctor demanded, drawing Zaly's attention away from the patient she was studying when she noticed his tone.

“What?” Jack said, looking to the Time Lord in surprise.

“Fully equipped Chula warship,” Zaly spoke up, “Last one in existence and armed to the teeth....or so he says. Basically, parked it in the middle of the London Blitz, and wants you to make him an offer before a bomb destroys it.”

The Doctor frowned at Zaly, still not too sure as to what agreement she and Jack had come to. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her....okay, he didn’t trust her, but from what he had gotten from what she had just told him, Jack was a conman trying to make a few bucks.

The Time Lord looked back to Jack, “What kind of warship?” he questioned again.

“Does it matter?” Jack asked exasperated, “It’s got nothing to do with this.”

“This started at the bomb site. It’s got everything to do with it,” the Doctor told him firmly, “What kind of warship?” he asked again.

“An ambulance!” Jack cracked, “Look,” he added as he produced a hologram from his wrist device. “That’s what you chased through the Time Vortex. It’s space junk. I wanted to kid you it was valuable. It’s empty. I made sure of it. Nothing but a shell,” Jack explained as Zaly looked at the hologram curiously, tilting her head as she studied it, “I threw it at you. Saw your time travel vehicle, Love the retro look by the way, nice panels. Threw you the bait-"

“Bait?” Rose cut in, sounding surprised.

Zaly scoffed as she grabbed Jack’s wrist before swiping her hand over the device, her eyebrows raising when she managed to create a duplicate of the hologram in her palm. “Are you that naive?” she asked Rose before looking at the hologram in her hand, focusing on a part of it and with her fingers, zooming in on it.

The Doctor watched Zaly curiously as she continued to examine every part of the ship, frowning when he noticed Jack was doing the same.

“I’m not naive!” Rose exclaimed, glaring at Zaly.

“Dunno,” Zaly muttered as she shook her hand, trying to dispel the hologram, but it wouldn’t disappear. “You never realised he was trying to con you. He even told you how he was going to do it. And seriously, who thinks about making an offer on something they haven’t seen,” she continued as she frowned at her hand before forming a fist, her eyebrows raising again when the hologram disappeared.

“Oh, and I’m sure you know that, don’t you? Being the criminal you are,” Rose spat at Zaly.

Zaly shrugged, “Hey, least I wasn’t the one about to buy some space junk.”

“He said it was a warship,” Rose shot back.

“You gonna stop them?” Jack whispered to the Doctor as they watched the pair argue.

“Nah,” the Doctor replied with a smirk, for once glad that he wasn’t on the receiving end of Zaly's attitude.

“They have ambulances in war,” Zaly said in a way like she was talking to a small child, “He’s a conman. Knew that the moment I heard Time Agent and payment. Only a conman would even consider trying to work an agency like that. And to even think he thought you were a Time Agent. Seriously. Who the hell would wear a Union Flag during a German air raid?” Zaly scoffed before frowning and looked to Jack, “What is a Time Agent, anyway?”

Jack grinned, “Maybe I’ll tell you later,” he told her flirtatiously, “Over a few drinks?”

Zaly smirked as she stepped towards the man, and Jack's grin grew. Neither noticed the Doctor’s frown as he watched.

“I have a suggestion,” Zaly said as she leant towards Jack to whisper in his ear.

“And what’s that, Kitten?” Jack murmured.

“Flirt with me again and you can say goodbye to junior,” she told him quietly and Jack froze when he felt something press against the inside of his calf, knowing exactly what it was. “Understood?” Zaly asked him.

Jack swallowed as he nodded, but was quick to answer vocally when he heard the sound of the gun being cocked, “Sure thing.”

Zaly smirked as she pulled away, “Good boy,” she said as she pocketed her gun, ignoring the frown she was getting from the Doctor and the glare from Rose. “Now that that’s settled,” she said as she looked around, “Anyone care to explain why these people seem to be wearing gas masks but not at the same time? Cause I really am a little freaked out right now. Especially since none of them are breathing.”

All the patients suddenly sat up and Zaly jumped.

“Okay, definitely a little more than freaked out right about now,” she said as she and the others backed away as the patients all stood up.

“Mummy? Mummy? Mummy?” the patients all spoke, each in a childlike manner.

“What's happening?” Rose questioned.

“I don’t know,” the Doctor replied as he watched the patients warily.

“Mummy?”

Zaly drew her gun, only for it to be taken off her from the Doctor. “What the hell, Doc!” she exclaimed as she turned to him, only for him to pull her back towards them when one of the patients got too close to her.

“Don’t let them touch you,” the Doctor warned.

“What happens if they touch us?” Rose asked, sounding terrified.

“You’re looking at it,” the Doctor told her.

“Help me, mummy,” the patients all said and Zaly furrowed her brows as she looked at them.

“Wait, wait, wait!” she shouted as she pulled her arm from the Doctor's grip, “Something....something is familiar,” she continued as her mind went back through everything she had seen since stepping out of the TARDIS earlier.

“Zaly, what are you doing?” the Doctor exclaimed as the red head took a step forwards.

“Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy. Mummy,” the patients continued to chant.


	13. Twelve

The patients were almost within touching distance of Zaly and the Doctor was about to yank the red head back when she shouted at the patients.

“Go to your room,” she ordered, earning wide-eyed looks from the Doctor, Rose and Jack. Especially when the patients in the ward stood still, stopping their advancement.

“Go to your room. I mean it. I'm very, very angry with you. I am very, very cross,” Zaly continued, before pointing in a random direction, “Go to your room!”

The patients hang their heads in shame and shuffle away, heading back to their beds.

Zaly turned to the time travellers with a grin, “I'm really glad that worked. Those would have been terrible last words,” she told them.

“What in the blazes were you thinking?!” the Doctor shouted at her, his hearts racing at the thought of what could have happened.

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, “Ah, I think I just saved your life,” she told him before frowning as she turned away, “Think some people would appreciate that, but _no_ ,” she muttered angrily to herself before holding out her hand.

Jack and Rose jumped when the gun the Doctor was still holding shot out of his hand and flew towards Zaly.

“Oh, no, no, no. You’re not having that back!” the Doctor snapped as he took a step towards the red head, only to stop when she whirled around to face him.

“You’re not my fucking babysitter!” Zaly snapped, “Ever since I’ve fucking met you, I’ve wanted to go home. But for some blasted reason, you think it’s okay to drag me along on you stupid trips. Not only that, you bloody drop me off nineteen years too fucking early and then I-” she winced as she tried to remember what happened before closing her eyes, missing the concern that flickered across the Doctor’s face.

“Look. Once what ever is going on here is dealt with,” Zaly continued, a little calmer as she opened her eyes, looking back at the three stunned time travellers, “I’ll be out of your hair, Doc.”

Silence reigned in the ward as the Doctor looked to Zaly with his jaw slack. He couldn’t believe that was how she truly felt, but he _had_ known that Zaly had wanted to go home.

The Doctor sighed, _And all I’ve done is drag her along and then treat her like a child,_ he thought, remembering how he had treated her when they had been on Satellite Five and realised she was founded in her accusations.

Zaly shook her head at the Doctor before turning away, wanting nothing more than to speak with Mels. Her partner had always been there when she needed someone to talk to. Mels had even stolen a bus once because it was the closest thing near her when Zaly was having a panic attack after one of her ‘episodes’.

“Why are they all wearing gas masks?” Rose questioned, breaking the silence.

“They're not. Those masks are flesh and bone,” Jack explained, looking between the red head and the Time Lord, wondering what their history was.

The Doctor stared at Zaly for a moment longer before turning to Jack, realising that getting this sorted and then taking Zaly home was the least he could do for the red head.

Time Lady or not, the Doctor knew he should have treated her better, but the moment he had heard her name, her _chosen_ name, it was as if he had thrown any regard for her out the window.

“How was your con supposed to work?” the Time Lord asked the conman.

“Simple enough, really,” Jack begun, “Find some harmless piece of space junk, let the nearest Time Agent track it back to Earth, convince him it's valuable, name a price. When he's put fifty percent up front, oops! A German bomb falls on it, destroys it forever. He never gets to see what he's paid for, never knows he's been had. I buy him a drink with his own money, and we discuss dumb luck. The perfect self-cleaning con,” he explained.

“Yeah. Perfect,” Zaly muttered as she was once again focusing on examining one of the patients. There was something niggling at the back of her mind. Somehow, and she knew that _somehow_ , this all connected the little boy she had seen earlier.

“The London Blitz is great for self-cleaners,” Jack said with a grin, “Pompeii's nice if you want to make a vacation of it though, but you've got to set your alarm for volcano day,” he continued before noticing the others looks, “Getting a hint of disapproval.”

“Take a look around the room. This is what your harmless piece of space-junk did,” the Doctor snapped, disbelieving the words that were coming out of the other man’s mouth.

“It was a burnt-out medical transporter. It was empty,” Jack tried to explain.

“Rose, Zaly,” the Doctor said, glancing at the red head and noticing her troubled expression as she checked over another patient. He decided not to question her, feeling that she would probably have another go at him, though the Time Lord felt she had every right to.

“Are we getting out of here?” Rose asked, breaking the Doctor from his thoughts when she noticed he was watching Zaly, almost sadly.

“We're going upstairs,” the Doctor told her after shaking his head. _There’ll be time to put things right later,_ he told himself.

“I even programmed the flight computer so it wouldn't land on anything living. I harmed no-one. I don't know what's happening here, but believe me, I had nothing to do with it,” Jack continued to tell them, though no one seemed to be listening to him, or seem to care for what he had to say.

“I'll tell you what's happening,” the Doctor said as he turned to the man, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Zaly was no longer frowning at the patients, but at Jack, “You forgot to set your alarm clock. It's volcano day,” he continued.

A siren sounded and Zaly looked out the closest window, knowing what it meant.

“What's that?” Rose questioned.

“The all clear,” Zaly said, though she took a step closer to the window when she thought she saw something move.

“I wish,” the Doctor muttered bitterly under his breath before leaving the ward.

\----

“Mr Spock?” Jack yelled as he and Rose ran down a corridor, trying to locate the Time Lord.

“Doctor?” Rose called.

They ran past a staircase, just as the Doctor looked over the rail from the upper floor. “Have you got a blaster?” the Time Lord questioned Jack, who had stopped running when he had heard the Doctor's voice.

“Sure!” the man replied as he and Rose ran up the stairs to join the Doctor at a secure metal door.

“Where's Zaly?” the Doctor asked when he didn’t notice the red head follow them.

“She was looking out the window when we left the ward,” Rose told him, wanting to roll her eyes. She was just glad that the red head would be leaving them soon.

The Doctor frowned but decided against looking for her. She had been right. Zaly didn’t need a ‘babysitter’ as she put it, and the Doctor knew that the red head could look after herself.

“The night your space-junk landed, someone was hurt,” the Doctor said to Jack, “This is where they were taken.”

“What happened?” Rose asked, rather glad that he wasn’t going to be looking for the red head. She had no idea why he had continued to bring Zaly along, more so since it seemed that the red head didn’t want to come with them, not that Rose wanted her to.

“Let’s find out. Get it open,” he told Jack as he stepped away from the door to allow the man to open it.

“What’s wrong with your sonic screwdriver?” Rose questioned the Doctor quietly.

“Nothing,” the Doctor replied with a grin as Jack used his blaster to disintegrate the lock, “Sonic blaster, fifty-first century. Weapon Factories of Villengard?” he asked knowingly.

“You’ve been to the factories?” Jack said in surprise.

“Once.”

“Well, they’re gone now, destroyed,” Jack informed the Time Lord, “The main reactor went critical. Vaporized the lot.”

The Doctor's grin turned into a smirk, “Like I said. Once. There’s a banana grove there, now,” he stated as he entered the room, “I like bananas. Bananas are good.”

Rose admired the square hole Jack's blaster had left on the door. “Nice blast pattern,” she remarked.

“Digital,” Jack replied.

“Squareness gun.”

“Yeah.”

“I like it,” she continued before following after the Doctor.

Jack glanced back towards the stairs, wondering where the feisty red head was before following the pair.

He was still rather confused about the argument he had witnessed earlier. More so when Zaly had informed him that she wasn’t with Rose and the Doctor.

The conman couldn’t help but think about how she fit with the other two. She clearly had no positive feelings towards either of them.

\----

“What do you think?” the Doctor asked as he walked around the room.

Broken filing cabinets and electrical equipment were scattered around the room, leaving a big mess and the observation window across the room was shattered.

“Something got out of here,” Jack replied as he examined the room.

“Yeah. And?” the Doctor continued.

“Powerful, angry,” Jack commented as he took in the destruction before noticing papers scattered around the floor that were covered in children’s drawings and a stuffed bear.

“Powerful and angry,” the Doctor corrected.

“A child? I suppose this explains Mummy,” Jack continued.

“How could a child do this?” Rose questioned, confused about what she was seeing. There was no way any normal child could cause this much destruction.

The Doctor turned on a tape machine and two voices could be heard.

 _“Are you aware of what’s around you? Can you see?”_ the voice the Doctor recognised as Dr Constantine questioned.

 _“Are you my mummy?”_ a child’s voice spoke up. One that both the Doctor and Rose recognised.

_“What do you want? Do you know-”_

_“I want my mummy. Are you my mummy? I want my mummy! Are you my mummy? Are you my mummy? Mummy? Mummy?”_ the child grew more frantic as he spoke.

“Doctor, I’ve heard this voice before,” Rose said, her voice trembling slightly.

The Time Lord nodded, “Me too.”

_“Mummy?”_

“Always, ‘Are you my mummy?’. Like he doesn’t know,” Rose remarked, rather confused and scared.

_“Mummy?”_

“Why doesn’t he know?” Rose continued as they listened.

“Doctor!” Zaly's voice called as she rushed into the room, only to skid to a halt when she was suddenly hit with a feeling she couldn’t describe. It was as if the hairs on the back of her neck rose and made the air around her crackle with her magic. “Whoa, what’s that?” she remarked as she raised her hand and looked at it, seeing the hairs on the back of it raised.

“Can you sense it?” the Doctor asked her in surprise, though he really shouldn’t have been. She was a Time Lady, even if she didn’t know. And he had a feeling since Zaly had her odd abilities, or magic as she called it, that she could be more receptive to such sensations.

“Sense what?” Jack questioned, looking between the pair in confusion, not having missed how Rose rolled her eyes when Zaly entered.

“That feeling,” Zaly stated, “It’s like it’s coming from the walls in this room,” she continued as she carefully approached one of said walls. The moment her hand touched it, Zaly jerked it away, almost as if she had been shocked, “Oh, someone was very angry,” she muttered before turning to the others, “Can you guys feel it?”

The Doctor nodded, but Rose and Jack just looked at her like she had grown another head.

“Really, you can’t feel it?” Zaly asked in disbelief. She didn’t know how they couldn’t. The feeling was almost suffocating. She opened her mouth to say something else, but the tape recorder caught her attention, reminding her of why she was here.

 _“Mummy?”_ the child’s voice spoke.

“Funny little human brains. How do you get around in those things?” the Doctor asked sarcastically, though he was rather unsure if it was Zaly's magic or her Time Lady biology that was allowing her to sense what he was sensing.

“Doctor?” Zaly spoke up as she stepped closer to the tape recorder, her eyes never leaving the device.

“When he’s stressed, he likes to insult species,” Rose told Jack, cutting off what ever Zaly was going to say next.

“Rose, I’m thinking,” the Doctor told his companion.

“He cuts himself shaving, he does half an hour on life forms he’s cleverer than,” Rose continued.

Zaly stood beside the tape recorder now as she continued to listen to the conversation going on around her.

“There are these children living rough around the bomb sites. They come out during air-raids looking for food,” the Doctor spoke as he tried to work out what was happening.

_“Mummy, please?”_

Zaly closed her eyes, her mind playing back everything she had seen since splitting up from the Doctor. She saw the boy on the roof, and Rose trying to get to him. Running across the rooftops, noticing the occasional child moving across the streets below.

“Suppose they were there when this thing, whatever it was, landed?” the Doctor continued his musing.

“It was a med-ship. It was harmless,” Jack told him, exasperated.

“Yes, you keep saying harmless,” the Doctor snapped, “Suppose one of them was affected, altered?”

“Altered how?” Rose asked.

Zaly's eyes snapped open the same moment the tape clicked over, feeling a burning pain starting from her left hand that started to make its way up her arm, only to come face to face with the child in the gas mask, his hand wrapped around hers.

“I’m here!” the child said as he looked up at the red head, who was unable to move as the burning sensation continued to move throughout her body.

“He's afraid,” the red head managed to get out, unknowing that her eyes turned golden as small gold particles swirled in them. Her voice was just loud enough for the others to hear and as she continued, the burning sensation started to fade as Tanith came forth, almost as if she knew that they were in danger.

“Terribly afraid and powerful. He doesn’t know it yet, but he will do.” The air around her grew thick with magic as she placed a shield around herself and the boy, protecting the others from possible contamination, “He's got the power of a god, and I just sent it to its room.”

The Doctor froze at her words, feeling the pressure in the room continue to drop and looked between Jack and Rose.

“I’m here. Can’t you see me?” the child asked Zaly, tilting his head to the side.

“What’s that noise?” Rose asked, hearing the tape clicking over.

“End of the tape,” the Doctor told her, swallowing heavily at what that implied, “It ran out about thirty seconds ago.”

“I’m here, now. Can’t you see me?” the child continued to question the red head, though he still hadn’t let her hand go.

The Doctor swallowed again, unsure what he was going to find when he turned around to where he knew Zaly was. “She sent it to its room. This is its room,” he said before turning to the red head, only to freeze when he realised the child was standing right in front of the red head, a shimmering wall surrounded the pair, reminding him of the same thing she had done to his ship in the church, “Zaly?”

“Are you my mummy?” the child asked, “Mummy?”

“Zaly, you need to step away from him,” the Doctor said as the rooms pressure continued to drop. The red head didn’t seem to hear him though, and the Doctor took a step towards her, “Zaly, get back, now!” he demanded.

“You better figure this out, Doctor. Use that brain of yours,” the red head said, though she made no motion of moving, “Because when I take this off, she’s got an hour, two at best if I can try and reprogram them to help her.”

“What is she talking about?” Jack asked, feeling a little lost as he picked up the change in Zaly's tone.

“Mummy?” the child continued.

The Doctor’s face paled as he took a couple of steps to the side, not wanting to see what he feared had happened, but needing confirmation none the less. His hearts plummeted when he saw the child’s hand gripping Zaly's.

She didn’t look at the Doctor as her other hand raised and the blaster the Doctor had taken of Jack flew towards her. She aimed it at the wall furthest from where she and the child were standing before firing it, leaving a large, square hole where the wall had once been.

It was only after doing that did she look to the Doctor as she threw the gun back at him and he stumbled to catch it, seeing her eyes had changed again.

“I can give you a few minutes,” she told him before her hand pulled up her jacket sleeve and revealed her bracelet, “But once this is removed, I can’t hold him back.”

“What’s going on?” Rose asked, looking between the Doctor and Zaly.

“Mummy?”

“Tanith, don’t do this,” the Doctor pleaded, earning a confused look from Jack and Rose.

“You’re wasting time, Doctor,” Tanith told him before looking back to the child, “Time I don’t have.”

The Doctor took one last look at Tanith before he nodded and moved passed Jack and Rose, heading towards the hole she had put in the wall. “Come on, you two!” he snapped when he realised they hadn’t moved.

Jack exchanged a confused look with Rose before following after the Time Lord and the moment they stepped through the wall, the Doctor aimed the blaster at it. He set his jaw before firing, repairing the hole.

Tanith grimaced and fell to her knees as her body rocked with pain as the nanogenes continued to try and change her biology. She couldn’t help but grin, however as her hand tightened around the bracelet.

“Prove us wrong, Doctor,” she murmured before slipping it off.

\----

On the other side of the wall, the Doctor almost collapsed, using the wall to support him when he sensed Tanith and the pull that wanted him to return to her side. But he fought through it, knowing that he was now working on a timer to fix this and save her.

Whatever had happened to Zaly, whatever the child was doing to have caused Tanith to ‘surface' again, the Time Lord knew that if he didn’t fix what Jack had done, her mind would burn and he would lose them both.

“Doctor?!” Rose cried as she moved to try and help him, wondering what was wrong, but he pushed her away, shaking his head as he straightened.

“It’s nothing,” he told her.

“Sure doesn’t look like nothing,” Jack remarked, eyeing the man, “What happened to Zaly and who the hell is Tanith?”

“We need to go,” the Doctor said, ignoring his question as he walked off, “I need to get to that bomb site.”


	14. Thirteen

Zaly woke with a groan, finding herself on the floor of a ransacked room. She went to place her hand against her forehead, only to frown when she realised she was holding her armband.

“What the....?” the red head muttered before slipping it back onto her arm, wondering how it came to be in her hand. It was something she never took off, having always worn it.

Zaly shook her head as she looked around, trying to remember why she was in the room, only to quickly get to her feet when she remembered seeing the gasmask boy heading towards the hospital.

“Shit,” she exclaimed as she staggered out of the room, hoping to find the Doctor and Rose before the kid found them.

As much as she may not like either of them, she didn’t think they deserved to die. _Okay, I’m still on the fence about Rose,_ Zaly told herself before frowning at the thought of the Doctor. She really wasn’t too sure what to make of the man, but as more of what happened before she passed out came back to her, Zaly found herself not really caring.

 _Once I find Jack, I can go home,_ Zaly thought as she entered a ward, heading towards the exit.

She stopped short, her eyes darting around when she noticed all the beds were empty and her heart picked up at what that could mean.

“Okay, then....” she muttered as she checked the next ward, only to find it was empty as well.

Unable to help herself, Zaly walked through a few more wards, wondering where everyone had gone. “And I thought a living ship was creepy,” she muttered uneasily as she realised that it looked like the whole hospital was empty, “Nothing beats a dark and empty hospital....”

As the red head finally made her way out of the hospital, she was suddenly pulled into a hug, causing her to stiffen in alarm and surprise.

“What the fuck?!” she exclaimed, managing to push whoever was hugging her away, only to pause when she realised it was the Doctor. “Er, everything okay, Doc?” she asked, rather at a loss as to how to feel at his actions.

That was not the reaction she had been expecting when seeing the Doctor again.

“I thought I had lost you,” the Time Lord said, tugging on his ear, feeling a little embarrassed.

The moment he couldn’t feel the pull towards Tanith, nor sense her anymore, he had rushed towards the hospital, fearing the worst. The moment his eyes landed on the red head, he had been filled with an overwhelming sense of relief that he hadn’t even thought, just reacted.

Zaly raised an eyebrow at the Doctor before looking down at herself, “Nope, I’m still here, Doc,” she told him before frowning, “What happened? Last thing I remember was seeing that freaky gas mask kid heading towards the hospital.”

“Oh, Jamie. Yeah, nanogenes. Found his mother and reprogramed the nanogenes to undo what they had done,” the Doctor explained as he looked back towards where the ambulance had been, a small smile on his face.

“Right,” Zaly said slowly, not having a clue at what he was talking about. “So, do you know where Jack is?” she asked.

The Doctor’s head snapped towards her, his eyebrows furrowing. “Jack?” he questioned, unable to quell the spark of jealousy that had appeared in his gut.

But after feeling that pull for so long, more so while Rose tried to flirt with him, the Doctor couldn’t deny that there was something there. That he did feel something for the red head.

“Ah, the conman. The one who tried to sell you the space junk,” Zaly clarified, “We had an agreement and I’m guessing he finished his deal or whatever with you guys. Just point me in his general direction and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“What agreement?” the Time Lord asked, not liking the fact that she really did want to leave, but it irked him more that she wanted to leave with Jack.

“Jack would finish he’d deal and afterwards he’d take me home,” Zaly explained, eyeing the Doctor suspiciously, finding his behaviour rather odd.

“Oh,” the Doctor breathed as he scratched the back of his head, unsure how to explain what had happened with Jack.

“Doc,” Zaly said slowly, “What happened to Jack?” she asked, realising that something had happened since she had fallen unconscious.

“He, uh,” the Time Lord tugged on his ear uncomfortably, “He took care of the bomb.”

Zaly looked at the Doctor for a moment before sighing. “Well, there goes my ticket home,” she muttered before she started walking away, “Of all the times for a conman to turn straight.”

“Zaly, wait!” the Doctor called as he followed after her, grabbing her arm to get her to stop. He quickly let go when she frowned at his hand. “Look, I, I....” he sighed heavily, “I’m sorry, okay. I should have taken you home instead of basically kidnapping you.” The Time Lord tugged his ear again, feeling very uncomfortable before his shoulders slumped. “When my ship picked you up, I was intrigued,” he began to say.

“Wait, wait,” Zaly cut him off, “Your ship picked me up?” she asked, rather surprised that it would have done that. She had thought that he had done that, not his ship.

The Doctor nodded, “Not long after I left you. Well, for me it was the next day,” he shook his head, “But after I realised you knew me, a future me, let alone someone who should have been dead,” the Doctor frowned, unsure how to continue. He knew that Zaly didn’t even know she was a Time Lady, let alone the possibility of having met herself....if what she had told him had been correct.

“Tanith?” Zaly questioned, eyeing the Time Lord.

The Doctor sighed before he nodded, “Tanith....she disappeared centuries ago, along with her mother. I had thought they were dead. But when you said that you had met her, I....”

“You kidnapped me,” Zaly stated flatly, causing the Doctor to wince. She stared at the Doctor for a moment before a frown appeared on her face. “You said you were the only one left,” she said, watching the Doctor carefully as she continued, “Something about a war.”

The Doctor stiffened at the mention of the war before nodding slowly, though he couldn’t figure out where Zaly could have heard about that.

But he remembered when he had found her in the console room after what had happened in Van Statten’s museum and realised that she could have overheard what he and Rose where talking about.

 _And it explains why she was remembering Serenity teaching her about Dalek’s,_ he thought.

Zaly looked away from the Doctor, her eyebrows furrowed as she digested what she had learned. It wasn’t hard for her to see why the Doctor would have been intrigued by her, especially if she had met someone he had thought had died.

Her frown reappeared as she looked back to the Doctor, “What’s a nanogene?” she questioned as she continued walking, deciding to think over what he had told her later.

The Doctor eyed Zaly for a moment before relaxing as he followed, rather thankful she wasn’t pressing him for more answers. He really wasn’t sure how much he could tell her before it became too much of a risk.

“They’re subatomic robots....”

\----

Rose frowned as she trailed behind the Doctor and Zaly, whom were talking animatedly between themselves.

She couldn’t help but feel as though the Doctor should have just left the red head at the hospital since he had pretty much ignored her after returning with Zaly.

“So, the nanogenes changed Jamie, saving his life in the process, but didn’t realise that the gas mask he was wearing wasn’t a part of his biology and created a five year old super soldier?” Zaly asked the Doctor after he had explained what had happened.

“Pretty much,” the Time Lord agreed with a grin, finding their conversation some what soothing and refreshing.

It had been far too long since he could have a conversation with someone and not having to dumb down what he was saying and rather hoped that Zaly had reconsidered leaving.

Even his ship liked her, and considering that she had been the one who had picked the red head up, he couldn’t help but wonder if she knew about their bond, or even who Zaly had really been from the very beginning.

“But, why would they have done that?” the red head asked, her eyebrows knitting together, “I mean....I understand that they had never seen a human before, but why would they have saved him in the first place?”

The Doctor shrugged, “Part of their programming. The ambulance was a Chula battlefield ambulance and the nanogenes were preprogramed to fix up wounded soldiers and get them ready for the front line.”

Zaly raised an eyebrow, “You know, nanogenes would be rather handy to have,” she mused out loud, causing the Time Lord to glance at her. Seeing his expression, she was quick to add, “I mean, the whole ‘creating super soldiers’ would be a bad idea, but the ability to heal someone without medication or a hospital....I wonder if it would be possible to get any.”

“And why would you need any?” he questioned curiously.

Though he knew that she was a Time Lady, the Doctor didn’t actually know if Zaly held the same healing abilities that he had, or even that the armband she wore that hid who she was would also stop them from coming forth.

“Oh, I don’t,” Zaly told him as the TARDIS came into view as they turned the corner into the alleyway they had first arrived in. “But they would come in handy,” she finished.

The Doctor pulled out his key and unlocked his ship, glancing at Zaly as he did so. “They would,” he agreed as he opened the door and gestured her to go before him, “And I think I know of a few places where we could pick some up,” he added, following after the red head as she entered the ship.

Rose glared after them, unbelieving that the Doctor seemed to forget that she was even there. She stomped inside, only for her glare to deepen when Zaly was laughing at something the Doctor had said.

“Really, no noses?” the red head managed to get out between her breaths, “How does that even work?”

“Doctor?” the blonde cut in before he could respond, causing the pair to jump in surprise, having forgotten she was even there.

She huffed, folding her arms across her chest. “What about Jack?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What about him?” the Doctor asked as he made his way up to the console, rather annoyed with the interruption.

It had been the first true conversation he had had with Zaly that hadn’t ended in an argument of some kind, and his companion had to cut in and mention the conman.

“Why did he say goodbye?” the blonde questioned, though she already had a fair idea as to why.

Rose felt that she preferred the way the pair had been before the Doctor had returned with Zaly. Seeing them chatting away like they had been caused her to burn with jealousy, especially when some of the things they had mentioned she couldn’t follow and made her feel like an idiot.

“I thought you said he took care of that bomb,” Zaly stated, looking between the Doctor and Rose, unsure as to why the Doctor's mood seemed to have shifted at the mention of Jack.

“He did,” the Doctor muttered as he moved around the console, not really wanting to continue with that topic.

“He saved our lives, Doctor,” Rose interjected, looking pointedly at the Time Lord.

\----

Zaly's nose wrinkled as Moonlight Serenade played through the console room. Her attitude for the song hadn’t changed since first hearing it when Jack had been flirting with Rose.

The red head glanced at the door as Rose stepped out and onto Jack's ship, rolling her eyes at the blonde's antics, only to jump in surprise when the Doctor appeared in front of her, holding out his hand.

“What?” she asked, looking at him in confusion, unsure as to what he wanted.

The Doctor just rolled his eyes before grabbing her hand and pulling her up from the jump seat.

“Wait, what?” she exclaimed in surprise as the Doctor started dancing, leading her around the console room, not saying a word.

She stumbled a few times, not really much of a dancer and accidently stood on the Doctor's feet a few times, wincing each time she did so, but it seemed that the Doctor was just as bad of a dancer as she was as he went to twirl her around, only to get her arm twisted.

“Doctor!” she exclaimed with a laugh and the Time Lord grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry,” he muttered as he let her go, just as Jack and Rose re-entered the ship. “I'm sure I use to know this stuff,” he added before glancing to the pair standing by the doors, “Close the door, will you. You’re ship’s about to blow up, there’s gonna be a draft.”

Rose glared at Zaly as the Doctor moved back to the console and flicked a switch the moment Jack had shut the doors, causing the engines to start up.

Zaly, however, glanced at the Doctor with furrowed brows, wondering why he _had_ danced with her. Sure, she found the Time Lord interesting and loved to press all his buttons, but she hadn’t been expecting anything like dancing, and just like the hug earlier, she wasn’t too sure what to make if his actions.

Though the red head couldn’t deny the flutter that had appeared in her stomach while they had been dancing and wondered what had brought it on.

“Much bigger on the inside....” Jack's voice broke Zaly from her thoughts and she was quick to look away from the Doctor when she realised she had been staring....only to end up looking to Jack who winked at her and she frowned.

“You better be,” the Doctor replied, hoping he hadn’t made a mistake of saving the man.

“I think what the Doctor’s trying to say is....you may cut in,” Rose spoke up, grabbing Jack's hand, hoping to make the Doctor jealous.

Her plan backfired before it had even started when the Doctor changed the song and ‘In The Mood’ started playing.

“Zaly! I've just remembered!” he exclaimed in delight, causing the red head to look at him questionably. “I can dance!” he said as he approached her, clicking his fingers in time with the music before grabbing her hand.

“Doctor?!” Zaly shrieked as he spun her around, only to find that this time, her arm didn’t end up twisted behind her back and it made her curious to know if he had been faking it earlier.

Jack shook his head at the pair, a little confused by their behaviour. _Hadn’t they been at each other's throats earlier?_ he thought, not even noticing Rose's hand fall from his as she glared at the pair.

Whether or not they saw it or not was still up in the air, though neither showed any indication they had seen it as the Doctor dipped Zaly, causing her to let out a laugh before he started leading her around the console, teaching her the steps as they went.

\----

Hours later found Zaly sitting in the doorway of the TARDIS, her legs hanging over the side as she took in the view of the stars.

After the impromptu dance party, where she had learnt that she didn’t in fact have two left feet, Zaly had been surprised when the Doctor had pulled her aside and apologised once again before offering to take her home.

She had told him that she would think about it, surprising him, though she was a little confused as to whether or not she actually wanted to or not.

As much as she had wanted to go home earlier, after learning a little more about the Doctor's past, finding out that he was the last of his kind, she couldn’t help but understand why he hadn’t wanted to drop her off straight away.

And after finding out that Tanith, whoever the black haired woman that Zaly had seen when she was ten had disappeared along with her mother centuries ago, she had actually grown intrigued.

Then there was the way he had acted after she had woken up in the hospital.

She wasn’t too sure what had changed with the Doctor, but as she remembered how she had felt while they had danced and talked, the red head could admit that it actually confused her.

A part of her felt a little bad for the feeling she had while they had danced, never having experienced them around anyone else but Mels and a small part of her questioned his intentions.

It wasn’t hard for her to have figured out that the Doctor had known either Tanith or her mother, and it made her question if he was only trying to be nice to her because she held memories of them, locked away in her mind.

 _But, I don’t actually remember them,_ the red head thought with a frown, _And_ _the Doc did say if I tried, my mind would burn up._

She sighed, wondering if it was even possible to retrieve them. The red head couldn’t help but think it was possible, considering that she could still remember the memory about the Dalek, and the dream she had had the other night, er....day?

As she looked out to the stars, Zaly couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way the Doctor could help her remember, although she was a little scared of asking him.

And even if the memories were hidden from her, the red head couldn’t help but wonder as to how. As much as Zaly knew, she had grown up in Leadworth, so she wasn’t even too sure how she had the memories in the first place.

Zaly pulled out her phone and sighed, really wishing she could talk with Mels. Normally they spoke daily, but Zaly didn’t even know how long it had been since she had been kidnapped by the TARDIS.

It felt like months since the red head had last seen her partner, but she found she couldn’t even recall half of it. It was like there were black spots in her memory.

Frowning, Zaly placed her mobile on the floor beside her, realising that it hadn’t been the first time she had had blanks in her memory. She had put them down to just over studying as they normally happened when she had tests and hadn’t slept well. It was also when she seemed to have more frequent episodes of the voices.

Mels had told her that all she seemed to do was study when ever she asked her, but now Zaly couldn’t help but wonder if Mels had been telling the truth. Especially after every blank in her memory seemed to have her coming around in a different place.

It told her that whatever was happening, she seemed to be conscious to some degree, even if she didn’t remember doing anything, just like the time she had woken up in the church with the Doctor.

Zaly jumped when the Doctor sat beside her and picked up her phone, not having heard him approach.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” the Time Lord said as he fiddled with her phone, “You must have been in deep thought.”

Zaly looked to the Doctor, her eyebrows furrowing as she watched him work on her phone. “I....I was thinking,” she told him, frowning when he removed the battery on her phone and replaced it with a new one.

“About what?” the Doctor questioned, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at her. It had rather surprised him when she had declined his offer to take her home and he was curious about what had changed her mind.

Zaly frowned as she accepted her phone from the Time Lord. She looked at it as she spoke, “Why can’t I remember?” she asked him, “I have a part of my mind that I can’t access and memories that shouldn’t be possible. I....I just don’t know what’s going on anymore, and....I, I just want it all to stop. I don’t want to hear the voices anymore. I don’t want to have parts of my life that I can’t remember,” she told him, her hands tightening around her phone.

The Doctor opened his mouth to say something when Zaly snorted.

“Sorry,” the red head said sheepishly as she looked to the Doctor, his expression confused, “It’s just that you’re....” she shook her head and turned back to the stars with a small, but sad smile, “I have a....friend, Mels. ‘Thick as thieves’, my sister calls us,” she glanced at the Doctor, “Literally and figuratively.”

“That I could believe,” the Time Lord replied with a small, slightly forced grin, trying to ignore the jealousy that had appeared, hearing that Zaly had someone else that she seemed _very_ close to.

Shaking his head, pushing the feeling away as he told himself that he had no reason to be jealous, the Doctor concentrated more on the fact that there had been someone she could rely on while she had been on Earth.

And it wasn’t too hard for him to image that Zaly's friend would be similar to her and a part of him was glad that there was someone the red head was close with after hearing that her mother had died.

Though that also brought a feeling of guilt, realising that his ship had literally kidnapped her without a second thought for whom she could have left behind. And from the fondness in Zaly's voice as she spoke about Mels, he could tell that they were possibly more than friends.

Zaly's eyebrows creased as she looked to her phone. “I always felt I could talk to her about anything. She has always been there for me when I needed her and now....” she sighed heavily, “I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. At first it was just the voices, and then overtime, my magic. She was there every step of the way. And now I find myself with memories locked away in my mind that I shouldn’t even have about aliens that _I’ve_ never met before, sitting in a police box that is impossibly smaller on the outside than the inside with an alien that somehow is the same man I met when I was ten.”

Zaly was breathing heavily by the end of her rant, feeling as though everything was crashing down around her. It was almost like everything that had happened in the last week was finally hitting home. She was startled from her swirling thoughts when the Doctor placed his hand atop of hers, successfully gaining her attention.

“I’m sorry,” the Time Lord said quietly as he removed his hand, “I just,” he sighed as he looked back out at the stars, “I never even thought of what you could be going through when I took you to Satellite Five and not straight home,” he let out a huff and shook his head, “And I guess that ever since then it had just gotten a little out of hand.”

Despite herself, Zaly laughed, causing the Doctor to glance at her a little worriedly, suddenly concerned for the red heads mental stability.

Zaly looked at the Doctor and shook her head at his expression. “You know, Doc,” she spoke up, “You did actually try and drop me off home,” she reminded him before she smirked, “Even though it was nineteen years too early.”

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah. I’m sorry about that,” he told her, knowing that he had almost lost her and Tanith because of his and Rose’s stupidity. He was a little grateful that Zaly didn’t remember what had occurred, but it also reminded the Time Lord as to why he had been heading to the console room in the first place.

“Zaly,” he began, causing the red head to look at him with furrowed eyebrows, hearing the change in his tone.

When the Doctor was certain that he had her full attention, he continued, “I don’t know why you have those memories, or even why you can do the things you can do,” he told her, knowing that even if he did know why she had the memories, he actually didn’t know how the red head possessed her magic. “But if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to help you figure it out.”

The red head frowned, unsure, but the Doctor continued, leaving the choice up to her.

“Why don’t you think it over,” he said as he stood up. He was about to walk away, but paused and glanced to Zaly’s phone with a small smirk, “And while you do, why don’t you give that friend of yours a call.”

Without giving Zaly a chance to say anything, the Doctor left the console room.

Zaly’s face creased in confusion as she looked back to her phone, wondering what the Doctor had done to it. She flipped it open and turned it on, and her eyebrow raised in surprise when she got a bunch missed call notifications and a few messages.

The red head glanced to where the Doctor had disappeared and shook her head with a small smile.

“Universal roaming,” Zaly muttered with a snort before calling up Mels.


	15. Fourteen

“Red!” Mels shouted when she spotted Zaly as the red head looked around Roald Dahl Plass.

“Mels,” was all Zaly could say before being pulled into a tight hug by the other woman. “Oh, I’ve missed you,” she breathed as Mels let her go.

“You’re not the only one,” Mels remarked with a grin before pulling the red head into another hug, “It's been months and I was worried something had happened. Amy has been beside herself with worry, though I managed to convince her that you had been busy with school.”

“Months?” Zaly sputtered as she pulled away. Glancing towards where the Doctor and the others were inside the TARDIS, Zaly couldn’t help but snort, realising that the Time Lord had gotten the date wrong....again.

She looked back to Mels, who was staring at her with a questioning eyebrow cocked and grinned. “At least it wasn’t nineteen years too early,” she said.

“Hmm?” Mels hummed questionably, eyeing Zaly curiously, “Does that strange remark have anything to do with why you wanted to meet me in Wales of all places?” she asked.

Zaly's grin grew as she linked her arm through Mels'. “I think we need some food,” she said as she pulled her partner towards a takeaway shop. “And maybe a nice drink afterwards,” she added with a sly smirk.

\----

Not long after Zaly had left, the Doctor, Rose, and Jack, along with Mickey Smith, stepped out of the TARDIS and onto the Plass.

“Should take another twenty-four hours, which means we've got time to kill,” the Doctor told them, knowing how long his ship would take to refuel.

The Time Lord couldn’t help it when his thoughts drifted to Zaly, wondering what mischief she and Mels were getting up to, only to be broken from his musings when Mickey spoke up.

“That woman's staring at us,” the younger man remarked, looking at a woman with golden brown hair, who was indeed staring at them....or more specifically, the Doctor.

The Time Lord frowned, recognising her as the same woman who had returned his sonic after Zaly had stolen it and once again glanced upwards, looking at the sun that was slowly starting to set in the sky.

“Probably wondering what four people could do inside a small wooden box....” Jack trailed off when the woman snorted before walking away, almost as if she had heard him.

He glanced at the Doctor and noticed the Time Lord was watching the woman intently before she disappeared into the crowd.

“Isn’t that the same woman who returned your sonic after Zaly stole it?” Rose asked.

Jack snorted, “She actually stole your sonic?” he questioned, but started to walk away before the Doctor could respond.

It really didn’t surprise him that the red head would have done something like that, having seen how crafty Zaly seemed to be. Though it gave the American a little more insight into their relationship....whatever it may be.

Over the last couple of weeks travelling with the Doctor, Rose and Zaly, Jack had figured out quickly that the Doctor had a thing for the red head and quite enjoyed watching the Doctor squirm when he flirted with Zaly. Although the red head either had no idea that was what he was doing, or blew him completely off.

“Wait!” Mickey called as the others made to follow Jack, only to stop and look back to him questionably. “Er, the TARDIS,” he said, rather alarmed, “We can’t just leave it. Doesn’t it get noticed?”

Jack frowned, looking at the Doctor. “Yeah, what's with the police box? Why does it look like that?” he asked.

“It's a cloaking device,” Rose told him, rather proud of herself for knowing something the American didn’t.

“It’s called a chameleon circuit,” the Doctor explained, “The TARDIS is meant to disguise itself wherever it lands, like if this was Ancient Rome, it’d be a statue on a plinth or something. But I landed in the 1960’s, it disguised itself as a police box, and the circuit got stuck.”

“So it copied a real thing?” Mickey asked, surprised, “There actually was police boxes?”

“Yeah, on street corners,” the Doctor confirmed, “Phone for help before they had radios and mobiles. If they arrested someone, they could shove them inside until help came. Like a little prison cell.”

Jack leaned towards the Doctor, “Why don’t you just fix the circuit?” he asked.

“I like it!” the Doctor exclaimed, a little affronted, “Don’t you?”

Rose grinned, “I _love_ it,” she said, patting the side of the ship, only to jerk her hand away when she received a slight shock from the TARDIS.

The Doctor managed to hide his grin at his ships antics, knowing that she wasn’t happy with his companion after she had tried to confront Zaly about what had happened during the fiasco with her father.

The TARDIS had been quick to alert him to the blondes plans and had managed to shift a few corridors around to stop Rose from finding Zaly, knowing that she would only cause the red head harm by bringing that topic up.

But apart from that, there had been a few small arguments between the pair, and the Doctor was quick to realise that Rose's exclamation about having pink hair may have been founded after the fifth time she came screaming into the console room about some random infliction she was incurred with.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on, especially when Rose's ‘problems' always seemed to happen after she had tried to cause an argument with Zaly, and the red head seemed to be rather scarce whenever it occurred.

And it didn’t surprise the Doctor that his ship was rather fond of Zaly.

“But that's what I meant!” Mickey’s voice once again cut through the Time Lords thoughts. “There's no police boxes anymore, so doesn’t it get noticed?” the young man asked.

The Doctor grinned, “Ricky, let me tell you something about the Human Race. You put a mysterious blue box slap bang in the middle of town and what do they do?” he asked as he placed his hands on Mickey's shoulders.

Before the young man could reply, the Doctor continued, “Walk past it. Now stop your nagging, let’s go and explore!”

The Time Lord walked off and the others followed.

“What's the plan?” Rose questioned as they walked.

“I don’t know!” the Time Lord replied, “Early 21st Century and the winds coming from the....East. trust me, safest place in the universe.”

The small group continued on their way, oblivious to the brunette who had backtracked around the Plass to appear behind them, and when she was sure they were gone, she approached the TARDIS.

“By Merlin, she wasn’t kidding, was she,” the vampire remarked as she ran her hand down the side of the ship, feeling it warm under her touch.

Her lip twitched upwards at the feeling before she turned serious. “I was told you would know why I am here,” she asked the ship and was relieved when the door opened, allowing her entry inside.

She looked back to where the others had gone before stepping inside and the door swung closed behind her.

\----

“So, you actually ran into the Doctor?” Mels questioned as she grabbed a chip from their shared plate, having been told a bit of what had happened since talking with Zaly back in March.

Zaly hadn’t really left anything out, although for the first time, she found she was keeping something from her partner, unsure how to approach the topic in regards to what had changed in her relationship with the Time Lord.

It wasn’t that there was anything really there, but she found that the longer she spent around the Doctor, her feeling towards the alien had become clouded....confused.

“Well, he's not the same man I had met when I was ten,” Zaly said instead, her eyebrows creasing as she realised that she still had no idea how the man she had met when she was ten was the same man she had been travelling with for the last month or so.

“So, he just uses the same name?” Mels asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Zaly shook her head before popping a chip into her mouth. “When I ran into the Doctor in 1987, the one I met when I was ten, he said, ‘If you’re looking for my previous self',” she continued after a moment, frowning as she tried to figure out how it that was possible. “I don’t know how, but I think they’re the same person.”

Mels didn’t say anything as she took another chip, though she did have to fight down a knowing smile. “So, this Doctor you’ve been travelling with is the past version of the one you and Amy met when you were ten?” she asked after she finished her mouthful.

Zaly's frown deepened as she thought about it. “I think so,” she said slowly, “But I don’t know how it could be. I mean, he looks so different.”

“Could be an alien thing,” Mels shrugged before something caught her eye.

“True,” Zaly admitted before hearing the sound of laughter coming from outside.

She glanced in the direction of the noise and noticed that the Doctor and the others, along with whom she guess was Mickey Smith were laughing at something one of them had said.

Before she could say anything, Mels suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Come on,” the younger woman said as she pulled Zaly from her seat, “I’ve got something to show you.”

“Mels!” Zaly exclaimed as she was dragged from the restaurant, although she couldn’t help but laugh at her partners antics.

 _Gods, I’ve missed this,_ she thought as they left.

She missed the pair of blue-grey eyes that tracked them before the owner frowned and walked away.

\----

“That's my line!” Jack exclaimed after Mickey had stolen his punchline, although there was no heat behind his words.

“I don’t believe you, I don’t believe a word you save ever, that is so brilliant!” Rose stated between her laughter.

The Doctor glanced away from the others when he heard Zaly’s exclamation and couldn’t stop the grin that had been on his face from falling slightly at the sight of whom he guessed was Mels dragging the red head out of the restaurant, Zaly laughing as they went.

A part of him knew that he shouldn’t be jealous, having told himself every time Jack had flirted with the red head that it was none of his business whom Zaly saw. And although he knew Jack only did so to press his buttons, somehow having figured out that the Doctor did harbour feelings for Zaly, the Time Lord also couldn’t forget the sensation of the pull he had felt when he had taken off Zaly's armband.

Now frowning, the Doctor turned his gaze away from the retreating pair as they talked and giggled between themselves, only for his eyes to land on the front page of a paper a man was reading nearby and his frown deepened.

Unnoticed by the others, he stood up.

“Did you ever get you clothes back?” Rose continued, oblivious to the Doctor's now empty seat.

“No, I just picked him up and went right for the ship, full throttle, didn’t stop until I hit the spacelanes, I was shaking!” Jack explained with a grin, “It was unbelievable, I’m freaking out and by the time I got there....”

The Time Lord snatched the paper off the man, completely ignoring Jack's tale as he looked closer at the front page. He looked up to the others as he returned to the table, his face troubled.

“And I was having such a nice day,” he cut in, showing them the paper that had a picture of Margaret the Slitheen, the headline stating that she was the new mayor of Cardiff.

\----

The moment the TARDIS door closed behind the half vampire, she let out a whistle.

“You’re beautiful,” Valencia remarked as her eyes took in the console room and earned herself a warm hum from the ship.

She walked up to the console, running her hand over it before stopping in front of what she had been looking for.

“I hope you know why I’m doing this,” the vampire muttered before pressing a few buttons.

The TARDIS let out another hum and the scanner beeped, drawing Valencia's attention and the vampire moved towards it to see what the ship wanted to tell her.

 _I understand,_ appeared on the screen and Valencia sighed in relief.

“If it goes the way Serenity had foreseen, Tanith needs to find this when the time is right,” she said, pulling out something from her pocket and placed it on the console.

 _I will make sure she gets it,_ was the reply as the item vanished, _Although if my Thief finds out, he won’t be happy._

Valencia nodded, knowing that the ship was right. “We'll just have to make sure he doesn’t,” she stated before heading back to the doors.

The TARDIS hummed a little sadly as the brunette left and Valencia turned back to the TARDIS and patted the panelling.

“I’m sure we will see each other soon,” she said with a smile.

“And who do we have here?” a males voice spoke up from behind the vampire, who just smiled as she turned to face the owner.

“Hello, Jack,” she said to the American, who apart from having a little work done, looked just like the man she had seen leave not moments earlier, “It's been a while.”

“It has,” the man agreed, “Ten years, I believe.”

Valencia frowned as she looked around. As much as she knew the others were busy, knowing that Regulus was watching them to see if they returned earlier than foretold, having two Jack's in the one place was not a good idea.

“Maybe we can go somewhere a little more....secure,” she stated, looking back to Jack with a pointed look.

“Of course,” he agreed with a smirk, holding out his arm to vampire, “And then you can tell me why you appeared all those years ago, telling me that you needed help getting Zaly where she needed to be,” he added.

Valencia returned his smirk as she accepted his offered arm, placing her hand upon it before he led them towards the Information Centre that was the ‘public' entrance to Torchwood.

“Oh, what's life without a little mystery,” she replied.

“Killer,” Jack deadpanned, causing the vampire to snort.

\----

“What in the blazes is that?” Zaly questioned Mels as she looked at the bright red sports car parked on the side of the road.

“Why, I figured you might want to go somewhere,” Mels said as she twirled a set of keys on her finger, “But if not, I could always return it.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” the red head was quick to say, snatching the keys from Mels, “I wanna drive,” she added, causing her partner to snicker as they got into the car.

“Where did you even get this?” Zaly asked as she started the car up and it roared to life, “There’s nothing like this in Leadworth,” she added, running her hand over the steering wheel.

Mels glanced at the red head with a smirk, “I may or may not have seen it on the way into Wales. The poor thing was just screaming to be stolen.”

Zaly laughed as she put her foot down on the accelerator, leaving a cloud of dust behind as the car took off, the tyres screeching, which caused a few bystanders to frown at the vehicle as it speeded down the road.

Mels fiddled with the radio, trying to get something that they both loved to listen to and the moment she did, she looked to Zaly with a smile and rested her hand above the red heads that was sitting on the gear stick.

Her smile grew as Zaly’s hand shifted and their fingers intertwined.

\----

Regulus Black stood in the shadows of Cardiff’s Town Hall entrance hall, waiting for the Doctor, Jack and the others to appear.

As he waited, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander back to what brought him here.

If someone had told him thirty years ago the he would be standing where he was right now, in a parallel world working towards trying to return someone whom he had always seen as a sister to her true self, he would have told them they had needed a one way ticket to St Mungo's Janus Thickey Ward.

But here he was, doing just that.

A part of him wanted to blame Dumbledore for what had happened, but after appearing back in the Ministry with Serenity's body and being taken straight to the Department of Mysteries, Regulus realised that what had occurred at Hogwarts seemed to have been one of two paths, and the other path could have been a lot worse for everybody.

After being taking in by the DOM, swearing an oath and becoming an Unspeakable, the outside world believed him to have been killed in a mysterious accident which left him the freedom to learn exactly what Serenity had foreseen.

It had both saddened him and surprised him to know that Serenity had always known when she would die, but after countless months going through every ‘prophecy' that Tanith's mother had provided the DOM, he realised that Serenity had kept far more from everybody than what he had previously thought.

Even from Tanith's father.

The wizard was broken from his thoughts when the group he had been waiting on entered and he stepped back further into the shadows when they looked around, not wanting to be noticed just yet.

He watched them converse for a bit before they split up and the moment they did so, he followed Mickey.

Valencia had told him whom he needed to follow and he had learnt that the half vampire was far more than one of Tanith's oldest friends and took her words seriously.

The DOM might hold all of Serenity's memories related to anything that could happen in the magical world, but it was Valencia that Serenity had confided in when it came to anything she believed to be too important for humans to have.

Like information and prophecies that pertained to her daughter, Tanith.

As he followed after Mickey, Regulus pulled out a small device and an earpiece. He placed the earpiece in his ear before turning the device on, just in time to hear the Doctor's voice come through the piece.

_“Slitheen heading North.”_

Rolling his eyes as he watched Mickey run straight into a cleaning trolley, he ran passed the younger man and towards the exit he knew Mickey was supposed to cover.

\----

“Who was on Exit Four?!” Jack questioned the Doctor and Rose, a little out of breath as he watched Margaret head in the direction of that exit, running as fast as her chubby legs could carry her.

None of them saw her holding one of her earrings in one hand as she pulled the other off.

“That was Mickey!” Rose exclaimed, also short on breath.

“Here I am!” Mickey's voice called, the bucket he had gotten his foot stuck in still attached to his limb.

“Mickey the idiot,” the Doctor sighed, disappointed.

Rose, who was still watching Margaret spoke up, “Oh, to be fair, she's not exactly-”

A piercing whistle cut her off and the group looked in the direction it had come from, only to watched on in surprise when there was an answering screech and an owl that had appeared from nowhere and swooped down towards Margaret.

The Slitheen shrieked at the sight of the bird heading towards her, its talons outstretched and threw her hands out to try and stop the bird.

The owl grabbed the earrings and brooch that the Slitheen had been about to use and headed back to its owner as Regulus appeared in front of the disguised alien.

“Thank you, Artemis,” Regulus said as he scratched his familiars head before accepting the items.

“Who the hell are you?” Margaret asked, glaring at the man who had foiled her escape.

Regulus barely even glanced at her as the others approached.

“You might want these,” he said, ignoring the confused looks he was receiving as he held out the jewellery to the Doctor, “Unless you want her getting away, again.”

Margaret made to try and sneak away, only for the owl on Regulus' shoulder to turn its head towards her. Its expression could have been considered the equivalent of an avian glare and she hesitated, only to jump when Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, grinning in a way that made her swallow, heavily.

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” the Time Lord muttered as he accepted the items, unable to help but frown at the man and his owl. “And who exactly are you?” he asked.

“Regulus,” the wizard replied, “And you must be the Doctor. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“How do you know the Doctor?” Mickey asked curiously, looking between the wizard and the Time Lord, the latter whom was eyeing the man suspiciously.

“And how did you know to stop her?” Rose added, nodding to the Slitheen whom Jack was making sure wasn’t going to escape.

Regulus looked straight at the Doctor as he replied, knowing that the next words that he was about to say would go two ways. He just hoped it was the better of the two.

“I use to know someone who knew you quite well,” he looked the Time Lord up and down, “Though I must admit I don’t know why she complained about your attire. The jacket is far better than the celery....or the scarf.”

“Celery?” Mickey, Rose and Jack all asked at the same time, looking at the Doctor oddly.

The Time Lord shifted a little uncomfortably before he frowned at Regulus. “Who did you know?” he asked, wondering how the man, who barely looked to be in thirties would have known about his previous regenerations, or his odd clothing choices he had had.

He was surprised when Regulus' expression fell, a sad, pained look passing over the wizards face.

“Serenity,” Regulus said quietly, almost as if saying her name pained him. And in a way, he guessed it did.

Even after all these years, losing both Serenity and Tanith had been almost unbearable for him. Although the pain had lessened a little when he had been informed that Tanith was still alive and had dived into helping Valencia with what Serenity had left for her to do to save her daughter.

And having seen Tanith earlier, it had almost been like he had stepped back in time.

She had looked exactly like she had when they had graduated Hogwarts and the memories of the way he, Severus, Lucius and Tanith had been like before all the mess had started with Dumbledore had hit him like a bludger to the face at how Tanith spoke and laughed with Mels.

But it had also made Regulus more determined to fix what Albus had done. He just had to tell what had happened to Tanith first, and he hoped she would take the news he had to share well.


	16. Fifteen

Mels and Zaly were laying side by side on the bonnet of the car, watching the sky as it slowly darkened as the stars starting to appear.

“Have you decided what you'll do?” Mels asked, turning her head away from the sky to peer at Zaly.

“I don’t know,” the red head admitted, her eyebrows knitting together, “I want to figure out what’s wrong with me, but I don’t know if asking the Doctor for help is the best thing to do,” she continued, “And I can’t help but wonder if he only wants to help because I have memories of Tanith and her mother hidden up here,” she finished, tapping the side of her head.

And that had been something Zaly had been questioning, wondering if that was behind the Doctor's change in attitude towards her as it had only happened after she had told him off during the Blitz.

But there was a small voice in her mind that kept telling Zaly that that wasn’t why he was behaving differently around her. She just wasn’t too sure whether it was right or not.

Mels sat up with a frown, “There’s nothing wrong with you,” she said seriously before grinning, “And what does it matter why he wants to help you? In the end, you could end up figuring out why those memories are hidden from you and why you have your magic.”

Zaly sighed, sitting up as well. “I guess,” she muttered, “But then it would mean that I would be away from you, and Amelia,” she added, though she wanted to tell Mels that it was her that she would miss the most.

“Oh, I’m sure you'll come and visit,” Mels grin turned sly, “Especially if you have something to come back for.”

“What do you me-" Zaly’s question was cut off when Mels kissed her.

She froze for a second in surprise before returning the kiss as the argument she had always had about why kissing Mels was such a bad idea flew out the window as all the emotions Zaly had held back came forth.

How long had she wanted to do this, to tell Mels how she truly felt about her partner, but always held back because of Mels age.

When Mels pulled away, she couldn’t help but smile triumphantly at the expression on Zaly's face as the red head slowly opened her eyes.

It hadn’t passed her notice how Zaly felt about her, and Mels was rather tired of waiting for the red head to make the first move.

“Wow,” Zaly breathed as she rested her head on Mels shoulder, “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” she murmured.

Mels snorted, unable to help herself. “Oh, I think I do,” she stated before pushing herself off the car, causing Zaly to pout as she also stood up.

An unknown expression passed over Mels face as she thought over seeing Regulus at the restaurant earlier before she pushed the thought away, and herself away from the car and kissed Zaly again, pushing her up against the vehicle and causing the red head to let out a squeak of surprise.

It also hadn’t passed Mels notice as to just who Zaly was, and although she knew that Valencia and Regulus were working to get Tanith back, she wanted to make sure that before that happened, Zaly knew exactly how she felt.

A part of Mels had once worried about if Tanith would have harboured the same feelings that Zaly had, but that had been answered when it had been Tanith that had kissed her.

Zaly melted into the kiss, on of her hands running up Mels side, while the other was tangled in her hair. She let out a moan as Mels deepened the kiss and when she pulled away, Zaly’s featured were flushed, surprised by the intensity of Mels feelings.

“Three years,” Mels whispered in the red heads ear, causing the red head to shiver at the sensation, “I’ve waited three years to do that.”

“Wha-what?” Zaly sputtered as she managed to get her brain to function again. “But....that....” she frowned before snorting, “You’re kidding, right? I....I was waiting until you were eighteen. I didn’t want you to think I wa-”

She was cut off when Mels placed her finger against her lips.

“You would never do something like that, Zaly,” Mels said quietly, internally amused at just how different Zaly and Tanith were. Tanith was quite forward with what she wanted, where Zaly had always been a bit more reserved.

“And besides,” she continued as she moved her finger from the red heads kiss-swollen lips, “It’s September. I’m eighteen.”

Zaly’s eyes widened before she laughed, pulling Mels into a hug. She froze a moment later however, realising what Mels had just said. “Your birthday!” she exclaimed before letting Mels go, “I missed your birthday!”

Mels shook her head with a fond, though slightly sad smile as her partner grabbed hand and dragged her back to the passenger side of the car. She snorted when the red head opened the door for her and closed it after she was sitting inside.

“I’ve got just the thing,” Zaly continued as she rushed around the car and got into the drivers seat. She looked to Mels with a grin the other woman knew all to well. “And you’re going to love it,” she added before starting the car.

\----

“You’re kidding, right?” Jack asked as he stared at Valencia, not believing what the half vampire was asking him to do. “You just said that if she did remember who she was, which, by the way, I still don’t understand how she is both a Time Lady and not at the same time, but her mind would burn up.”

“Were you even listening?” Valencia questioned, shaking her head at Jack, “I know that you don’t like thinking about that day, but she needs to be there, Jack. Her mind would burn, yes, but,” she sighed, not really wanting to repeat what she knew.

“Zaly would die,” Jack finished for her.

Valencia eyed him for a moment before giving him a small nod.

“Why do I get the feeling that you knew this was going to happen since you arrived here?” Jack asked with a frown, not liking anything about what Valencia was asking him. It may have been over a century since he had seen Zaly, but he had come to like the red head. And even though the vampire had sworn to him that Tanith would still ‘technically’ be Zaly, he felt as though he was about to send his friend to her death.

“I’ve known for far longer than I’d like to have,” the brunette remarked quietly, “But I swore to her mother that I would always be there for Tanith.”

Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. He could see that whatever Valencia had promised Zaly....er, Tanith’s mother, it wasn’t something she fully agreed with either. “I’ll do it,” he finally said and Valencia’s shoulder’s sagged in relief, “But, I’m telling you now, I want no part of any more. You’re asking me to send Zaly to her death,” he raised his hand when the vampire went to argue, stopping her, “No, don’t. I don’t care how you put it, Zaly is still going to die, isn’t she?”

Valencia looked away, not meeting Jack’s gaze and he shook his head.

“You better hope the Doctor doesn’t find out,” he muttered before walking away, needing some time alone. He missed Valencia’s reply as he headed towards his office.

“So do I.”

\----

Regulus frowned as he followed the Doctor and the others into the Town Hall exhibition room.

He wasn’t too certain what he was supposed to be doing right then and there, knowing that he was to be meeting up with Jack soon....the future one, at that. But as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, getting a slight headache from over thinking what he needed to do, the wizard also knew that the _present_ Jack needed to be inside the TARDIS before he met up with the American’s future self.

“Everything alright?” the Time Lord’s voice cut through the wizards musings and he looked to the alien before nodding.

“Yeah, fine,” Regulus replied, dropping his hand and ignoring the Doctor’s expression. He had been ignoring the man for the most part all the way back to Town Hall, knowing that if the Doctor found out what he, Valencia and Jack were about to do, the Doctor would try and stop them.

But there was no way to tell the Doctor that it wasn’t only his life that hung in the balance, let alone Tanith’s and a parallel world that the Time Lord probably didn’t even know was real.

 _Oh, I can’t wait for this to be over,_ Regulus thought to himself.

The Doctor frowned at the wizard, knowing that Regulus was hiding something, but shook it off for now. He could work out what that was later, but for now, he had a Slitheen to stop.

“So,” he turned to Margaret, “You’re a Slitheen, you’re on Earth, you’re trapped. Your family get killed but you teleport out, just in the nick of time. You have no means of escape. What do you do?” he questioned, but continued before the alien could say anything, gesturing to the model in the middle of the room that Jack and Rose were examining, “You build a nuclear power station.”

“A philanthropic gesture,” Margaret waved him off as she sat down on a seat, “I’ve learnt the error of my ways.”

Regulus couldn’t help but snort at that, knowing that she had in fact _not_ leant anything. “And it just so happens to be right on top of the rift,” he stated, earning a suspicious look from the Doctor as the Time Lord wondered how he could have known that.

“What rift would that be?” Margaret questioned _innocently_.

“A rift in space and time,” Jack spoke up, “If this power station went into meltdown, the entire planet would go schwwwupboom!” He made a gesture with his hands, mimicking an explosion.

The Doctor looked down at the model while Regulus walked around the room, examining things as he went.

“This station is designed to explode the minute it reaches capacity,” the Time Lord noted, looking to Margaret with an expression that wasn’t too friendly.

“Didn’t anyone notice?” Rose cut in, rather confused and alarmed, “Isn’t there someone in London checking this sort of stuff?” she questioned.

“You’d be surprised what people don’t notice,” Regulus muttered as he eyed a poster for the project, his face unreadable.

“We’re in Cardiff. London doesn’t care!” Margret told the blonde, “The South Wales could fall into the sea and they wouldn’t notice....” she paused, alarmed, “Oh....I sound like a Welshman. God help me, I’ve gone native,” she exclaimed in disgust.

“But why would she do that?” Mickey asked from the side of the room, “A great big explosion, she’d only end up killing herself.”

“She’s got a name, you know,” the Slitheen said.

“She’s not even a she, she’s a....thing,” Mickey stated, unsure what to actually call the Slitheen.

“Oh, but she’s clever....” the Doctor said, and in one swift movement, he pried the middle section of the model off and flipped it over, revealing a giant circuit board underneath. “Fantastic,” the Doctor couldn’t help but admire the board and Jack approached him excitedly.

“Is that a tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator?!” the American questioned in awe.

“Couldn’t have put it better myself, “ the Time Lord replied.

Jack took the extrapolator off the Doctor to have a closer look. “Ooh, genius!” he exclaimed, but the Doctor was no longer paying him any attention.

The Time Lord had turned to Regulus, only to find the man staring at the poster and he walked over, wondering why a poster was more interesting that the extrapolator. The moment he read what was on it, he glanced at the wizard before back to the poster. The words ‘Blaidd Drwg’ stood out immediately to the Time Lord, though he was curious as to why Regulus seemed to be transfix on them.

“You didn’t build this,” Jack continued, unaware that the Doctor and Regulus’ attention, and thoughts, were elsewhere.

“I have my hobbies,” Margaret shrugged, “A little tinkering....”

“No, no, no, I mean, you really didn’t build this,” Jack told her, “Way beyond you.”

Regulus drowned the others out as he read the words, feeling like the last two decades revolved around those two words. It was the reason he was here, to bring Bad Wolf to fruition.

The wizard had never understood those words that Valencia had told him decades ago. At least, not until he had become and Unspeakable and had viewed the memories that Serenity had left for him, and there had been so many.

The one that had shocked him the most was the one where she had died, and that was when Regulus had learned that what he was doing right now, what Valencia had been doing for possibly centuries, it was all to maintain the correct timeline.

Regulus closed his eyes, remembering that day over twenty years ago.

_Regulus rushed over to Serenity, the shock of what he had just witnessed slowly starting to sink in as he dropped beside the fallen Time Lady._

_“No, no. Come on, please!” he begged as he tried to get a response, anything from the woman whom had always treated him like a son. “Serenity, please!”_

_“Regulus!” someone shouted, but he took no notice as he tried in vain to wake Serenity up, even though he knew it was futile. The killing curse had done as intended and he knew that even with her regenerative abilities, there was no coming back from such a curse._

_The wizard was only brought back to the present when there was a deep growl that vibrated through the air, through his very soul. It was of utter loss and he knew immediately that it was Tanith. He looked over in her direction and was startled by what he saw._

_Tanith stood there, glaring at Dumbledore. The air around her was thick, hazy as her magic manifested in a way that made Regulus remember just how powerful she truly was. Golden particles swallowed her iris', almost looking like a golden sandstorm swept across them._

_“You!” Tanith growled out as she took a step towards a stunned Dumbledore. What ever she had said next, Regulus had no idea, but he could tell that whatever languages she was unknowing slipping between, the words were not polite in the slightest._

_“Regulus, move it!” Valencia shouted as she pushed passed him and he barely had time to catch the item she had thrown to him as he watched the half vampire tackle Tanith as the enraged red head tried to launch herself at Dumbledore, her form partially having taken on the characteristics of her animagus form._

_There was a tug in his navel before the next thing Regulus knew, he was back inside the Ministry, with Serenity's body._

“What's it mean?” Rose's voice cut through Regulus' thoughts and the wizard shook his head, clearing it.

He knew he needed to stay focused, but it was hard when the words he had come to realise were more intertwined with Tanith's life than he had once thought possible were before him in large letters.

“Bad Wolf,” the Doctor replied, glancing at the wizard beside him. The Time Lord couldn’t help but wonder just who the man was, and why he had been staring, transfix at the poster. It was almost like Regulus knew what they meant....but how?

“But I’ve heard that before, Bad Wolf,” Rose stated, her voice turning scared, “I’ve heard that lots of times....”

“Everywhere we go. Two words. Following us,” the Time Lord muttered, “Bad Wolf.”

“How can they be following us?” Rose asked, her voice trembling.

Regulus turned away from the poster, though the Doctor didn’t. The Time Lord continued to stare at it for a few seconds, trying to work out why those words seemed to be following himself and his companion before he suddenly said, “Nah! Just a coincidence! Like hearing a word on the radio then hearing it all day.”

The Doctor clapped his hands as he changed the subject, not wanting to worry his companion, “Never mind! Things to do. Margaret, we’re gonna take you home.”

“Hold on,” Jack cut in, looking to the Doctor, “Isn’t that the easy option, like letting her go?”

“No,” Regulus stated, staring at Margaret and causing the others to look to him in surprise, most probably forgotten he was even there.

“They have the death penalty,” Margaret agreed.

“If I am correct, the Slitheen family was tried in their absence and found guilty,” the wizard explained, “According to the statutes of the Raxacoricofallapatorius government, if any members of the Slitheen family return, they are to be executed.”

“How do you know that?” Rose asked, frowning at Regulus.

“And how do you know what she is?” Mickey added, knowing that the man hadn’t been there earlier, nor did the younger man believe that Regulus had been at Downing Street.

Regulus frowned, his eyebrows furrowing as he thought about his next words, knowing that the Doctor was watching him intently. He knew he had to be careful with what he said.

“I was left with some information deemed vital to someone close to me,” he looked to the Doctor pointedly, hoping he didn’t have to say who, but Jack opened his mouth.

“Who was that?” the American asked.

Regulus didn’t reply and the Doctor stared at the wizard, wondering if he had meant Serenity. It made the Time Lord curious to know how much the man knew about the Time Lady, and couldn’t help but think that Regulus knew, or had been informed about Serenity's abilities.

But that only made the Doctor question why.

Why would someone he knew to be so discreet reveal such things so personal to a human.

\----

Mels rested against the side of the car as she waited for Zaly to return with whatever the red head had planned for her late birthday.

She couldn’t help but feel saddened that this could be the last time she saw Zaly, and although Mels knew that what the others were doing was right, she couldn’t help but worry about if it went wrong.

Zaly, or the side of Tanith that believed she was human, was supposed to have never come into being, but thanks to Dumbledore, Mels knew that he had chosen Tanith’s path for her.

“Truths and lies, paths deceived. One of light, the other concedes. Pad down one, the other will fade. But know the cost must be paid. Lady of magic, Lady of time. Fate of both are intertwined. For if she does not see the light, darkness will become her plight,” Mels muttered under her breath, remembering the words Valencia had spoken to her a few years ago after Tanith had first surfaced.

She hadn’t known at first what the words meant, except that they were in regard to the woman she had fallen for. But it had been Tanith herself that had explained what had happened when she had arrived in this universe.

When Valencia had stopped her from attacking Dumbledore in her grief and rage, the pair had fallen into a crack in time and space, the same moment Dumbledore had tried to obliviate her.

It was the reason Zaly had come into being, not remembering who she was.

But there had been two things that neither Tanith or Dumbledore had known.

The first was that the seer who had revealed the prophecy had never been named, and it had been only Valencia that had known the truth that it had been a prophecy from Serenity herself.

The second was that the prophecy had been far longer than anyone had known.

_Truths and lies, paths deceived. One of light, the other concedes._

_Pad down one, the other will fade. But know the cost must be paid._

_Lady of magic, Lady of time. Fate of both are intertwined._

_For if she does not see the light, darkness will become her plight._

_Though uncertain the paths may be. The futures of both completely unseen._

_Of lions and snakes. Deception and courage. Know the words upon the page._

_For if the choice is to be stolen, darkness will descend. The Greater Good having fallen._

_A war the likes, no one had seen. Of a darkened magic, centuries unseen._

_But to stop the one who had stolen the choice, the Lupus Malum must be given a voice._

_Hidden in plain sight, the words a trail. To lead the one born to fail._

_To bring the Lady of time and magic, back to the world of realities fabric._

_For the darkness cannot be overthrown, as long as Dumbledore sits upon his throne._

Valencia had been the only person alive that had known the complete prophecy, until Regulus had entered the Department of Mysteries and had seen the memories that Serenity had left for him if anything had happened to her.

Mels knew she had only been told this because of her relationship with both Zaly and Tanith, which she found less odd than she realised she should, but also understood why the words had been kept secret.

Time travel may have been known to witches and wizards, but interdimensional travel was something they didn’t believe in, or even considered possible, the only exceptions being Severus, Regulus, Valencia and Lucius.

Though Mels also knew that two of those four no longer remembered.

She was brought from her musings when Zaly reappeared and she smiled, shaking the thoughts away at the sight of the red head.

If this was the last time she would see this side of Tanith, Mels didn’t want to dwell on her past.

“What do you think?” Zaly asked with a smirk, holding up a set of paintball guns and causing Mels to raise an eyebrow as she returned the smirk with one of her own.

“What do _I_ think?” Mels questioned as the red head handed her one of the paintball guns, “I think that I’m going to have a _lot_ of fun with this.”

“It gets better,” Zaly remarked, and before Mels could question what she meant, she grabbed Mels arm and they disappeared with a crack.

\----

“What the hell?!” Mels shrieked when she suddenly found herself atop the water sculpture in Roald Dahl Plass, her grip on Zaly's arm tightening in her surprise and fright.

“Shhh,” the red head said as she sat down slowly, helping her partner as she did so. She cast a spell over them both so they would stay warm, dry and unseen by the people below them. “Don’t want to alert the police that we’re up here.”

As the queasiness that came from apparating passed, Mels looked to Zaly with a grin. “You’re utterly crazy, you know,” she told the red head, who only returned her grin.

“Come on, Mels. Where’s your sense of adventure?” Zaly questioned as she pulled out a container of paintballs from one her bigger-on-the-inside pockets and loaded her gun with a wave of her hand, doing the same to Mels.

Mels shook her head as she accepted the paintball gun from Zaly. “So, what exactly are we doing up here?” she asked as she scanned the Plass below, taking notice of the blue police box that sat in front of the sculpture they were perched atop.

“Target practice, of course,” Zaly replied in a way that made it sound like it was something she did often as she took aim with her gun.

Finding her target, the red head fired and there was a splat as the ball exploded on impact, causing the man wearing a white shirt to jump and look around, wondering what had happened. He somehow didn’t notice the blue splotch of paint on the back of his shirt as he moved on, causing both Mels and Zaly to snicker.

“Nice shot,” Mels remarked with a grin as she aimed her own gun.

\----

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor snorted and shook his head as he watched Zaly, and whom he guessed was Mels continue to shoot people with the paintball guns, inadvertently drawing Jack's attention.

The American glanced at what the Time Lord was watching on the scanner and shook his own head at what he saw.

“They look like they’re having fun,” he remarked, only to grin when the Doctor's head snapped in his direction as he quickly shut the scanner down.

Shooting the man a glare, the Doctor moved around the console, making sure to keep a close eye on Margaret the Slitheen.

He still wasn’t happy with having the alien in his ship, but until the TARDIS had finished refuelling, they were stuck there until morning.

A part of him wanted to go out and find Regulus, wanting....no, needing to know how the man knew Serenity, but the man had disappeared on the way back to his ship, and the Doctor really didn’t have any way or indication on how to find him.

There was also the vampire he had seen earlier and it made him both curious and wary as to why she had been there, knowing that Time Lords and vampires, whatever their type had always had a rocky history.

But there had been something very different about the vampire he had seen. Something unknown and possibly dangerous.

\----

“Valencia told you, did she?” Regulus asked as he entered the Information Centre that led to Torchwood Three, seeing Jack leaning against the counter as he threw back a drink.

“What do you think?” the man grumbled, slamming the glass down on the counter and shooting the wizard a glare.

“Look,” Regulus sighed, “I don’t like this any more than you do, but if you’ve seen half of what I’ve seen, you would know that this needs to happen.”

Jack took a few steps towards the wizard. “You’re asking me to help you kill someone,” he snapped, “I’m more than not liking this,” he continued before pushing past Regulus and stepped outside.

Regulus exhaled slowly. “That went better than I thought,” he muttered before following after the American, drawing his wand and disillusioning himself as he went, unable to help the shiver that passed up his spine at the feeling of the charm.

\----

“This is amazing!” Mels exclaimed as she hit another person, leaving them rushing from the Plass to avoid being hit by anymore paintballs.

“Told you that you’d love it,” Zaly remarked as she managed to hit a straggler who wasn’t fast enough to escape. She grinned, looking to Mels before a familiar American accent called up to them, startling the pair.

“What do you two think you are doing?”

“Jack?” Zaly frowned as she looked down at the man before back to the other side of the sculpture where the TARDIS stood.

The red head could have sworn she had seen Jack enter with the Doctor earlier, and although she had seen the Time Lord leave with a short, fat woman (whom may or may not have been hit a few times with the paintballs), she was certain that Jack had not been with them.

She looked back to the American. “How’d you get there?” she asked, a little confused.

“Who's that?” Mels asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the American.

“Captain Jack Harkness,” the man replied with what Zaly considered to be a cheesy grin, causing the red head to frown. It only deepened as the man continued, “And you must be Mels.”

“Wait!” Zaly cut in before her partner could respond, “How did you know that?” she questioned Jack, glaring down at the man.

The Doctor may have heard about Mels, but Zaly had never told Jack about her partner. It was bad enough that the man continued to flirt with her, although she wasn’t too sure as to why since she always turned him down, but there was no way she was going to tell him about someone she felt so close to.

Jack rolled his eyes, and action neither woman could really see. He didn’t want to be there any longer than necessary and was growing uncomfortable knowing that Regulus was somewhere around, ready to do whatever he was gonna do.

“Why don’t you two come down and find out,” he called, managing to keep the grin on his face. He knew Zaly would already be suspicious of him, but didn’t want her to question him too much.

Zaly glanced at Mels and didn’t like the way she was watching Jack. She turned back to the man as a sly grin made its way on her face.

“Do you know what?” she asked, raising her paintball gun and aiming at Jack, “I don’t think so.”

Jack was quick to raise his hands and back up, wanting to kill Regulus when he swore he could hear the man snicker as he shouted to the red head, “Zaly, don’t do this!”

“Oh, but I think I will,” the red head replied, before pelting the man with paintballs.

Mels couldn’t help but laugh as Jack was quick to try and avoid the paintballs and she glanced at Zaly, wanting to remember this moment.

A twinkle appeared in her eyes before she too joined in, not wanting to be left out.

\----

“Are you done?” Jack asked, glaring up at the pair as multi-coloured paint dripped from his hair and clothes. Though as much as he wanted to be angry at them, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit of comfort in the knowledge that Zaly _was_ having fun.

Even if she had no idea what he was about to do....

Zaly glanced at Mels, who nodded and she looked back to the American. “Sure,” she told him as she took the paintball gun off Mels and made it, along with hers, vanish.

“Are you going to come down?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why don’t you come up?” Zaly shot back with a smirk, causing Jack to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Taking the opportunity of his distraction, Zaly grabbed Mels hand and they vanished with a crack, only to reappear before Jack and causing him to jump in surprise.

“What's up, Cap?” the red head asked casually as she wrapped an arm around Mels waist.

The move was both helpful and possessive, knowing that Mels wasn’t use to apparating as much as she was, as well as not having liked the way he had been looking at Mels.

“We need to talk,” Jack replied, turning serious and causing Zaly to frown. He glanced to Mels and seeing her slightly fallen expression, he realised he wasn’t the only one who knew what was about to happen.

“What about?” the red head questioned, unsure what to make of Jack’s sudden change in demeanour.

The American's eyebrows creased, though at Mels nod, he sighed. “I think this is a conversation we should have alone,” he explained to Zaly.

“Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of Mels,” Zaly replied, her grip on her partner tightening as her eyes narrowed on Jack.

She was surprised however, when Mels pulled away and she looked to her, confused.

"It's okay,” Mels said, only succeeding in confusing Zaly further, “You can tell me later.”

“Mels?” the red head questioned, unsure.

The woman just smiled as she replied, “It's fine, Zaly. Amy will be getting worried about me anyways. Probably thinks I got arrested again.”

Zaly frowned, still uncertain. She didn’t want to split up just yet, having missed her partner a lot since the Doctor's ship had picked her up. And after finding out that Mels really did feel the same towards her, the red head was less inclined to be apart from her partner.

“Are you sure?” she asked quietly and Mels nodded.

“Besides,” Mels leant in close to Zaly as she whispered in her ear, “You know where I'll be waiting for you when you return.”

Zaly couldn’t help but shiver as her eyes closed, savouring the feeling as Mels breath tickled her ear.

Mels pulled away, looking both victorious and a tad sad about the response she could get from Zaly. Even though she knew that Tanith felt the same that Zaly did, and that they were one in the same, it still was disheartening to know that this was truly the last time she would see Zaly the way she was right now.

“If you two are finished,” Jack cut in, although he was watching them with a raised eyebrow and his signature smirk.

He had never known Zaly had such a deep relationship with Mels, and it explained quite a few things to him. Like why Zaly had always seemed unsure as to what she had felt towards the Doctor, and why she had always blown him off.

Zaly opened her eyes and glared at the man, only to be distracted when Mels turned her face towards her and she kissed her.

“Go,” Mels said when she pulled away, “I’ll be fine. Just....just don’t forget about me, okay?”

Zaly frowned. “How could I forget you?” she asked, rather confused by the emotion behind those words. There was no way she would ever forget Mels.

“Just promise me.”

Cupping Mels cheek, Zaly leant forwards and kissed her. As she pulled away, Mels' eyes widened when she noticed Zaly's eyes had golden particles dancing across them.

“I could never forget you, Melody,” Zaly told her seriously and Mels swallowed heavily, knowing that it wasn’t just Zaly who was making that promise before she smiled at the red head.

Jack cleared his throat, regaining the pairs attention and Zaly turned to the man, the golden particles disappearing as she did so.

Mels couldn’t help but roll her eyes when Jack let out a yelp, knowing what Zaly had done and she pulled the red head into a hug. “I’ll see you later,” she murmured, tightening her grip for a moment before releasing the red head.

“I'll be right back,” Zaly told her before leaving with Jack, missing Mels smile fall as they disappeared.

She stared after them for a while before she turned and headed back to where they had left the car, knowing that if everything went as Valencia had told her, there was no real point of sticking around.

She just wished there was some way she could be certain that Tanith would be alright.

Taking in the Heart of the TARDIS was not something to be taken lightly and so many things could go wrong.

\----

“So, what did you think was so important to talk about, that you couldn't tell me in front of Mels?” Zaly questioned Jack as they walked along the Plass.

She still wasn’t happy that the American had cut her time with Mels off early, but was also rather confused as to why he seemed to be taking her the long way around the Plass, and not just straight back to the TARDIS.

“Actually,” Jack muttered as he glanced behind them, “It’s not me who wants to talk with you.”

The red head frowned at him, stopping in her tracks. “Jac-" she begun to question, only to cut herself off when she heard something behind her.

Zaly spun on the spot, wondering what was going on, only for her eyes to widen as a beam of red light headed straight towards her.

She didn’t have a chance to do anything as it hit her and everything went black.


	17. Sixteen

Tanith woke with a groan, a hand going up to her head that was feeling as though it was trying to split in two.

She tried to remember what had happened, but everything was scrambled and it confused her. Any other time she had surfaced, it had always been a little painful, but never this much and she also had a general idea as to what was happening.

 _“But you killed her!”_ Tanith heard someone shout nearby and she opened her eyes, blinking a few times when she realised she was resting against something in a small room.

“Wha-?” the red head said as she tried to stand up, leaning against a blue box for support.

She almost jumped out of her skin when there was a hum in the air and it took her mind a moment to recognise that it was the TARDIS she had woken up against.

“Why am I getting a sense of deja vu?” she asked no one in particular, only to receive a humorous hum as a reply.

 _“People don’t get killed in the games! They get transported across space! Doctor, Rose is still alive!”_ another voice reached her and she made her way around the ship and towards where the voices were coming from.

There was something familiar about the voices and names, but the red head couldn’t place why she’d feel that way, nor why they were talking about a....games station?

Reaching a door, Tanith shook her head, trying to get the pain to disappear, though the movement only caused her to wince as the pain intensified.

Seeing something that seemed to be a pad that opened the door, the red head placed her hand against it and almost fell through the door when it slid open.

Her actions drew the attention of the others in the room beyond and both the Doctor and Jack looked at her in shock.

“Zaly?” they questioned at the same time, only to quickly rush forwards when she started to pitch forwards.

“Whoa, easy there,” Jack told her with a grin as he wrapped an arm around her, the Doctor doing the same on her other side.

“How did you get here?” the Time Lord questioned in surprise and concern.

Neither Jack nor the Doctor had seen the red head since Wales, and the Doctor had though Zaly had decided against his offer.

Tanith looked between them, still not a hundred percent sure what was happening. “I....I don’t know,” she muttered as the pair helped her sit in a chair that someone had brought over.

When she was seated, the Doctor knelt before her, pulling out his sonic and began to scan her with it. Tanith was quick to snatch it off him, however.

“Too loud,” she muttered, fiddling with it for a moment before handing it back.

The two males shared a glance as the Doctor accepted his sonic back and started scanning her again, only to be surprised when it didn’t make a sound.

“How did you do that?” Jack asked, only to be shush by the red head.

“Too loud,” she repeated before her eyes started to close.

Jack was about to do something, worried for Zaly, but the Doctor stopped him, his expression unreadable.

“She's fine,” the Time Lord lied, “Zaly just needs some rest. Her mind must still be shaking off the effects of the transmat beam.”

Seeing Jack sigh in relief, the Doctor moved over to the computer’s, sneaking a glance at his sonic as worry filled his eyes.

He had no idea how it was possible, but Zaly's mind was starting to burn. Somehow, the wall that kept the centuries of memories at bay had been utterly obliterated and Zaly, Tanith, whoever was there right now was succumbing to the effects of what happened when someone did ‘dump’ centuries of memories on a mind that believed it was human.

And for the first time since meeting the red head, the Doctor was uncertain if there was anything he could do to save her.

\----

“Turn everything up. All transmissions, wide open, full power. Now! Do it!” a voice jostled Tanith awake and she opened her eyes, only to see the Doctor in front of the controls.

“What does that do?” an unknown male asked as the red head managed to pull herself to her feet, still unsure as to what was going on. She was surprised when someone appeared to help her stand, but was grateful none the less.

“Stops the Daleks from transmatting on board,” the Time Lord explained, “How did you get on? Did you contact Earth?”

“Daleks?” Tanith muttered as she approached the Doctor while the other male replied.

“Well, we tried to warn them, but all they did was suspend our licence because we stopped the programmes.”

She didn’t see Jack and Rose talking amongst themselves as the American told the blonde how Tanith, or whom he believed to be Zaly was there.

“And the planet's just sitting there, defenceless,” the Doctor replied, exasperated as he turned around, only to notice both Tanith and the woman helping her.

He went to say something to Tanith, to tell her she should be resting, but the look she gave him made him turn to the other woman. “Lynda, what're you still doing on bored?” he questioned before rounding on the male he was speaking with moments ago, “I told you to evacuate everyone.”

“She wouldn’t go.”

“Didn’t wanna leave your friend alone,” Lynda explained as she and Tanith made it to the controls.

“There weren’t enough shuttles anyway,” another woman spoke up, “Or _I_ wouldn’t be here....we’ve got about a hundred people stranded on Floor Zero.”

“What's happening?” Tanith questioned the Doctor quietly, nodding to Lynda that she was okay and the woman let her go and moved away to give them a moment.

“Daleks,” the Time Lord replied, his voice hard.

Tanith frowned as a trickle of a memory came to her. “But how? You said they were gone,” she looked to the Doctor in confusion.

“Well, I was wrong!” the Time Lord snapped, only to immediately regret doing so when Tanith flinched.

The red head's eyes narrowed, “I only asked because the last bloody twenty or so years, I’ve been a little out of loop with what was going on in this blasted universe, Doc!” Tanith shot right back, although she found herself feeling light-headed as she continued, the pain in her mind both growing and fading, “And Merlin knows how, but now I....I have....”

“Zaly!” the Doctor voice seemed to come from far away as Tanith collapsed.

She tried to stay awake, not wanting to leave the Doctor to face Daleks alone, but her efforts were in vain.

The last thing she knew was someone picking her up as someone else told the person carrying her to take her into the TARDIS.

\----

 _“This is Emergency Programme One,”_ the Doctor's voice cut through the fog of Tanith’s unconsciousness, _“Rose, Zaly, now listen, this is important. If this message is activated, then it can only mean one thing.”_

Tanith stirred as his voice continued, feeling that something was wrong.

_“We must be in danger. And I mean fatal. I’m dead or about to die with no chance of escape"_

That had the red heads eyes snapping open as Rose shouted at the hologram of the Doctor.

 _“And that's okay. Hope it’s a good death,”_ the hologram continued, _“But I promised to look after you both....yes, even you Zaly, and that's what I’m doing. The TARDIS is taking you home, just like you wanted Zaly.”_

“Like hell she is,” Tanith grumbled as she pushed herself off the jump seat and moved over to the console.

Even with her splitting headache, the red head realised what the Doctor was up to and there was no way she was going to leave the Time Lord to deal with the Daleks on his own.

“I won’t let you!” Rose shouted as she rushed up the remaining steps towards the console, and for a moment Tanith thought the blonde was talking to her.

 _“And I bet you’re fussing and moaning now, typical. But hold on and listen a bit more. The TARDIS can never return for me. Emergency Programme One means I’m facing an enemy that should never get their hands on this machine. So that’s what you should do: let the TARDIS die,”_ the hologram continued as Tanith tried to get the TARDIS to do as she wanted, but let out a frustrated breath when she realised the Doctor had locked her out of the controls.

She didn’t notice the hologram flicker for a moment, becoming distorted and fading slightly before it returned to normal and continued talking.

_“Just let this old box gather dust. No one can open it, no one will even notice it. Let it become a strange little thing standing on a street corner. And over the years, the world will move on and the box will be buried. And if you want to remember me, then you can do one thing. That’s all. One thing.”_

The hologram looked to Rose as Tanith rested against the console, frustrated, annoyed and utterly unsure as to what she could do.

 _“Have a good life. Do that for me, Rose. Have a fantastic life,”_ the hologram said, before surprising both woman when it turned to Tanith, _“I’m sorry, Tanith. But no matter what, you can’t come back for me. I’ve bio-locked you from the controls.”_

“You utter bastard!” the red head shouted as she ripped her armband off, her pain and frustrations reaching their peak, “You don’t even-”

_“You’re probably angry with me for doing that, but I can’t let you do something stupid and try and save me. No matter what you think, the feeling will fade. Go and be happy for me. Go steal a car and see that friend of yours.”_

The hologram faded, leaving both women standing there, speechless before Rose suddenly rushed forwards to the controls, pushing Tanith out of the way as she tried to get them to do something, anything to take her back to the Doctor.

“You can’t do this to me,” the blonde shouted as Tanith just stared at the spot the hologram had been from where she had landed, unbelieving of what the Doctor had just said. She couldn’t believe that he had known....and had done nothing.

“You can’t,” Rose continued to shout as she slammed her hand down on every available button and lever, “Take me back! Take me back!”

The engines died down and ground to a halt as it landed and Rose ran across the room towards the doors and threw them open before running outside.

“He knew,” Tanith muttered, finally moving off the floor, the pain in her head was nothing compared to knowing that the Doctor had always known about the bond they shared, and he had told her to ignore it, to let it fade.

Tanith shook her head, knowing that it would never leave her. She knew because of Severus and their bond that still ached at his loss. It was the same with the others, the ones she had seen as her brothers, her sister.

Regulus. Valencia. Lucius.

Her father and mother.

It always hurt and the pain never faded.

Using the console to help steady herself, the red head glared at where the Doctor ‘s hologram had been before heading towards the doors.

She saw Rose approaching the TARDIS, but before the blonde reached the doorway, the doors slammed shut, causing Tanith to jump in surprise and turn back towards the console, almost losing her balance in the process.

“What are you doing?” the red head asked a little hesitantly as she approached the console.

The ship let out a hum as a panel under the console cracked open and Tanith immediately looked away, her eyes closing, knowing what it was. Though she grew confused when she could hear a voice, recognising it.

 _“It’s good to see you again, Zaly,”_ Regulus' voice said and unable to help herself, Tanith opened her eyes and looked at the Heart of the TARDIS, only to inhale sharply as she was hit with the memory of what had happened after she, well, Zaly had spoken with Jack.

“Regulus,” she whispered as a tear rolled down her face, never having imagined she would ever see or hear his voice again.

_“I’m sorry about the stunner, but I don’t have much time,” Regulus continued, his expression regretful as he scratched Artemis’ head, the owl closing its eyes in bliss._

_“S-stunner?” the red head stuttered in surprise when the wizards words registered in her mind._

_Regulus nodded slightly, “I know you don’t remember who I am, but I’m hoping that I can change that.”_

_Zaly just looked at him for a moment before her eyes darted around the room they were in. She shifted a little, though was a tad wary about getting up, unsure what the man would do._

_“I’m sorry, Zaly, but I need to do this,” the wizard continued, not liking the alarmed look that had appeared in Zaly’s eyes. The same eyes of the woman whom he had always considered more of a sister than his own brother._

_“Wha....who are you?” the red head questioned as she slowly started to get up off the floor, her hand reaching into her pocket._

_“Regulus,” he introduced himself with a smile as he too reached for something up his sleeve, “Regulus Black.”_

_Zaly froze at his name, growing even more alarmed and confused. “You....” her eyebrows knitted together as the whispers started to come back, but she was surprised when the pain that usually came with them wasn’t there. She shook her head, trying to clear it, but it only made them grow louder._

_“I’m sorry, Zaly, but you were never supposed to happen,” the wizard stated as he withdrew his wand from up his sleeve._

_“Wh....you’re not making any sense,” the red head remarked, trying to focus on the man, but found it was suddenly hard to concentrate._

_“This will all make sense in a moment, and I’m sorry, but you’re not gonna like this,” Regulus said as he flicked his wrist and Zaly found herself wrapped up in ropes._

_“What the fuck?!” she screeched as she started to struggle, trying to get the ropes to lose so she could get free. She stopped, staring at the man and panic filled her eyes as he approached, his wand pointed at her._

_“I’m sorry,” Regulus apologised again as he knelt in front of Zaly as the red head restarted her struggling. He shook his head sadly, “I hope you don’t hate me for this, Tanith,” he muttered as he placed the tip of his wand against Zaly's temple._

_“No, what are you-” Zaly struggled harder as the man started to chant something under his breath. Zaly screamed moments later as pain, the likes she had never felt before pierced through her mind._

_“I’m sorry, Tanith,” was the last thing she heard before everything went black._

Golden light enveloped Tanith as she stood before the console, her eyes turning golden as the light of the ships Heart met the golden particles that had started to dance over the red heads normally dark brown eyes.

Tanith, however, was unaware of this as she was still reliving the memory of what Regulus had done.

_When Tanith's eyes fluttered open, Regulus rolled back on his heels with a sigh as she groaned._

_“Re-Regulus?” she questioned hesitantly as she blinked rapidly, making sure what she was seeing was real. “It's you!” she exclaimed, scrambling to get up and hug the wizard, only to cry out as pain lanced through her mind._

_“It's me, Tanith,” the wizard said as he helped her stand._

_“What's going on?” the Time Lady asked, leaning against the man, “How are you even here?” she continued as she rubbed her temple, trying to get the gears of her mind working, only for her eyes to widen. “It’s gone. What did you do?” she demanded, pushing herself away from Regulus._

_“What needed to be done,” Regulus explained, needing her to see the reasons behind his actions, “Something happened, changed. No one remembers,” he hastily added, seeing that she wasn’t convinced and his words finally registered, causing Tanith to freeze, “No one knows who you were, or what you did.”_

_“But....that's not possible,” the Time Lady shook her head in denial, “You’re talking about a complete blanket obliviation. Even Grindelwald didn’t hold that power, and I sure as hell know that Dumbledore doesn’t.”_

_Regulus looked away with a frown, causing Tanith to pause._

_“What happened?” she asked after a quiet moment, having a feeling that something far worse had happened than her being forgotten._

_“You have to believe me, Tanith, I had no choice. The DOM had to maintain the timeline until it could be fixed, and that book,” he pointed at her coat, causing the Time Lady to frown as her hand slipped inside the pocket she knew where her copy of Harry Potter was, “That’s not a story. Everything in those books, it's real. That war happened!”_

_“You’re wrong!” Tanith snapped, “He wouldn’t have done that. There’s no way he wou-"_

_“Tanith, Dumbledore also tried to kill you,” the wizard cut in quietly._

_The Time Lady looked to Regulus, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. “But, it wasn’t meant to be him. I was the one who could have turned out like that, not him. Neither of them. That’s why I was always travelling, to try and stop the prophecy. None of them had to die.”_

_“I’m sorry, Tanith,” Regulus whispered as he pulled the distraught red head into a hug. She fought against him for a moment before she broke down and all Regulus could do was hold her as he whispered his apologies._

_It wasn’t long until Tanith started to quieten and Regulus let his hold relax as he took a small step back, offering her a handkerchief from his pocket._

_“Wha-” she wiped her eyes as she sniffed, “What of Severus....and Lucius?” she asked, “Was he, they....like the others?”_

_“He didn’t remember, no,” Regulus answered softly and the Time Lady nodded as she blinked back her tears._

_“Probably for the best,” she stated with a small, sad grin as she wiped her eyes again._

_“Probably,” Regulus agreed, “I highly doubt that he would have let either of them live if he knew what they were planning. And besides, at least he stopped trying to impress your father,” the wizard joked, hoping to break the sombre mood._

_Tanith laughed, despite her tears at the fond memories. “I can’t believe he convinced you and Lucius to dress up in your Sunday best and tried to invite father and mother out for dinner.”_

_“I swear I almost wet myself when your father asked what I was doing there. No matter how he looked at me, I always felt he was evaluating me,” Regulus added as Tanith sighed and rested her head against his shoulder._

_“Is it bad that I miss him?” Tanith asked quietly, “I know I probably don’t even deserve to miss him after what he went through, but I can’t help but feel that there was a part of me that actually loved him.”_

_Regulus pulled away, turning Tanith's head towards him. “You can not continue to blame yourself for who and what you are,” he told her adamantly, “He knew, just as much as we all did that you would never be exactly like us. We knew that you were different,” Regulus smiled, “But that your differences never once mattered. Not to us. You were, and always will be our sister.”_

_“But I still hurt him,” Tanith argued back tiredly, though she snuggled into Regulus' arms, enjoying the comfort they brought, “What is the good of being different if all I do is end up hurting the people I care for? The people I loved?”_

_“Who have you hurt? You saved him, remember. If it wasn’t for you, Severus would have ended up as Lupin's chew toy,” Regulus muttered into her hair._

_Tanith's lip twitched upwards, “I don’t think that their little gang had ever expected that they weren’t the only animagus at school, let alone four.”_

_Regulus snorted at the memory, “No, they only saw what they wanted to see.”_

_“And what I was to become,” Tanith replied, her voice turning bitter._

_She pulled back and shook her head when Regulus went to say something. “It has happened and I will find a way to fix it later. But right now, why are you here and why did you take down the wall in my mind? How did you even learn to do....oh, you’re an Unspeakable,” she breathed, realising what he had meant earlier._

_Regulus nodded, “After what happened at Hogwarts, I appeared back at the Ministry with....” he cleared his throat, “They took me in and I learnt that you were still alive and knew I had to try and bring you back.”_

_“But, Regulus. You destroyed the wall. Zaly, she truly believes she is human and her mind can’t handle a Time Lords,” Tanith explained, already feeling the effects as it happened._

_“I know, but you have to understand, Tanith. Your mother knew what was going to happen. She made plans.”_

_“What do you mean?” the Time Lady questioned._

_“The prophecy. There was more,” Regulus told her quietly, “More than anyone knew.”_

_“But....”_

_“Just listen, okay. We don’t have much time,” Regulus cut in gently, “You need to get to the Heart and give the Wolf a voice. It’s the only way to save him, and yourself.”_

_“Who?”_

_Regulus smiled slightly, “The Doctor.”_

Tanith took a step towards the console.

“Take me to him,” she told the ship.

The TARDIS let out a warm hum before taking off, leaving behind a stunned Rose and Mickey as they watched the blue box dematerialize.

\----

On Floor 500 of the game station, the Doctor closed his eyes as Daleks surrounded him, not even trying to stop them. But one of the Dalek’s eyepieces swivel around as the sound of the TARDIS engines could be heard.

“Alert! TARDIS materialising!” one of the Dalek’s screeched as the ship started to appear in the same spot it had left.

The Doctor's eyes snapped open and he turned around in shock, not believing what he was seeing.

 _“You will not escape!”_ the Emperor of the Daleks shouted from one of the screens, though the Doctor wasn’t paying it any mind as his TARDIS finished materialised.

The doors were thrown open and the Time Lord held up a hand over his eyes as the blinding golden light of the time vortex poured out. Tanith stood in the doorway, the light curling around her.

When she stepped out of the ship, the Doctor stumbled backwards, falling to the ground in both awe and fear.

“What’ve you done?” he asked, his voice wavering.

Tanith gazed down at him, her eyes full of the light of the time vortex, as well as the golden particles that the Time Lord had seen only once before.

“I looked into the TARDIS, and the TARDIS showed me the truth,” she said, her normal accent gone as her voice overlapped with another.

“You looked into the Time Vortex, Zaly,” the Doctor stressed, worried for the red head, “No one’s meant to see that.”

 _“This is the abomination!”_ the Emperor shouted and one of the Dalek's aimed its laser at Tanith and fired as it screeched, “Exterminate!”

Tanith just raised a hand and the bolt froze in mid-air before it reversed and hit the Dalek, killing it.

The Doctor watched on in amazement, staring at Tanith intensely as she spoke again.

“I saved the Bad Wolf, gave it a new voice. I take the words....” she waved her hand and the words BAD WOLF on the wall of Floor 500 rose from the wall, “I scatter them in time and space,” the words floated away, “A message to lead myself here.”

“Tanith, you’ve got to stop this. You’ve got to stop this now,” the Doctor cut in, knowing that there was no way the red head could survive. Her mind was already burning up, but now she had taken in the vortex and he had no idea what that was going to do to her.

Tanith didn’t respond, not even to look at him as she stared straight ahead, the vortex and particles swirling in her eyes.

“You’ve got the entire vortex running through your head,” the Time Lord continued, “You’re gonna burn.”

The red head suddenly looked at him and the Doctor was a little surprised when he thought he saw the ghost of a smile appear on her lips. “I was already burning, but to save myself, I took in the Heart. Gave the Lupus Malum a voice. I want you safe.”

The Time Lord was taken aback by her words, unsure as to what she meant. He stared at her before noticing the band in her hand and it took him a moment to realise he could sense her, feel her.

“Our Doctor,” the red head continued as a tear rolled down her cheek, “Protected from the false God.”

 _“You cannot hurt me. I am immortal,”_ the Dalek Emperor declared.

Tanith looked to the screen the Emperor was on and her eyes narrowed. “You are tiny,” she told the Dalek, “I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence,” her face twisted into a snarl, sharper, dagger-like teeth flashing as she continued, “And I divide them.”

She raised her hand again and the Daleks on the floor are separated into golden, liquid-like particles.

“Everything must come to dust....all things. Everything dies,” the Time Lady continued as the rest of the Daleks on the satellite go the same way as the others, “The Time War ends.”

 _“I will not die. I cannot die!”_ the Emperor stated, though its voice rose with its fear.

Its words were nothing, however, as the entire mother ship was reduced to the liquid-like particles, dissolving away into oblivion.

“Tanith, you’ve done it,” the Doctor spoke up when the last Daleks vanished, “Now stop. Just let go,” he pleaded, but the red head shook her head.

“I can’t, not yet. She wants me to do something, to fix....bring life.”

The Doctor frowned, only to feel what she had done as Jack suddenly took a huge intake of breath as his eyes snap open. “But this is wrong!” he shouted at Tanith, now terrified of what she was doing, “You can’t control life and death!”

“I know,” the red head said quietly, understandingly, “No one shall become the Master of Death. The sun and the moon....the day and night....they keep balance,” her voice trembled as another tear fell, “But why does it hurt?”

“The powers gonna kill you and it’s my fault,” the Doctor said as he dropped his head in anguish.

“No,” Tanith stated, causing the Doctor to look at her, “I can see everything. All that is....”

She raised her hand and unlike the last time, golden particles that look to made up of sand swirled around the pair. The Doctor was quick to realise that the particles were similar to the ones he had seen in Tanith's eyes when Rose had saved her father.

“All that was....” the red head continued as the particles took on shapes of people. People that Tanith had grown up with and the Doctor was surprised to Regulus beside two others with the red head. “....all that ever could be,” she finished and the particles changed again.

This time, however, the room seemed to darken as flashes of light passed around them. The particles swarmed faster as they focused on one point and the Doctor inhaled sharply when he saw an image of Tanith, but she looked nothing like the woman that was standing in front of him. There was something about the image....something evil and it made him shudder as it faded.

“Do not blame yourself, Doctor,” Tanith spoke up after a quiet moment, “I took in the Heart to save both you, and myself....” she winced as she was hit with a sharp pain in her mind, causing the Doctor to get up in concern.

“Tanith?”

“I....” she shook her head, “So-somethings wrong,” she managed to get out and the Doctor took a step towards her.

“I think you need a Doctor,” he said quietly as he raised a hand and gently caressed her cheek.

Tanith looked at the Time Lord, her eyes going wide as he lent forwards and the red head was surprised when he kissed her.

The Time Vortex flew out of her eyes and into his and when the Doctor was certain he had drawn it all from her, he pulled away.

The red head gazed at him for a few moments, shocked, surprised and alarmed before her eyes fluttered closed and the Doctor was quick to catch her as she fell unconscious.

He gently laid Tanith down on the floor before standing up straight and faced the TARDIS calmly. He slowly exhaled the Time Vortex and it returned to the TARDIS, the doors closing quietly after its Heart had returned and the blue box looks just as it always had been.

The Doctor knelt down and leaned over Tanith, running a hand over her cheek before picking her up bridal style and entered the ship, the doors reopening for him.


	18. Seventeen

The Doctor stood before the console, looking up at the rotor and scanner before turning towards where Tanith lay as she stirred.

“Doc, this is worse than our last meeting place,” the red head remarked as she sat up, frowning at the armband that was still in her hand. Golden particles passed over her eyes at the same moment her hand shimmered and she scrambled to her feet.

“What happened?” she asked, looking to the Time Lord as she slid the band back on her arm.

“You don’t remember?” the Doctor questioned, rather surprised, though he was confused as to why she had put her armband back on.

“I was....” her eyebrows knitted together before flying upwards, “Why would you do that?” she took a step towards the Doctor, her expression worried as she remembered what he had done.

The Doctor glanced down to his hands that were resting upon the console, just seeing the veins shimmer with a golden light before it was gone. He looked back to Tanith and shook his head, seeing her expression.

“Zaly Pond,” the Time Lord laughed, only succeeding in confusing the red head, “I was going to take her to so many places. Barcelona, not the city Barcelona, the planet. She would have loved it. Fantastic place, they’ve got dogs with no noses.”

Tanith's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the Doctor, unsure how to tell him what had happened when she took in the Heart of the TARDIS.

The Doctor laughed again at his own joke before he spoke, “Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it’s still funny!”

“Doc,” Tanith said quietly, causing the Time Lord to focus back on her, “Zaly, she was-”

“She’s gone,” he cut her off, his voice turning equally quiet, “I know. I scanned you after getting the TARDIS into the vortex. The wall that separated your two consciousness is gone. I don’t know how, but whatever the Time Vortex did, it....” he trailed off and looked back to the scanner.

“She saved me,” the red head explained as she took a tentative step towards the Doctor, “Zaly was never supposed to exist.”

The Doctor frowned, moving a few steps around the console and away from Tanith, causing her to stop as her eyebrows creased.

“Did you know?” he asked her, though he avoided looking at the Time Lady.

“Know what?” Tanith asked, confused at the change in the Doctor's attitude.

“That in taking in the vortex, Zaly would die?” the Doctor asked, finally looking to Tanith, though his expression was unreadable.

A part of the Doctor knew that he shouldn’t be asking the question, but he needed to know if the red head had always known what would happen. As strange as it seemed, the Time Lord had come to deeply care for the part of Tanith that had believed she was human, and it hurt to think that there was a possibility that the Time Lady side had always known that Zaly would, in a sense, die.

Tanith’s eyebrows furrowed in her continued confusion. “Our mind was burning up, Doctor. If I didn-” she tried to explain, but he shook his head, cutting her off.

“That's not what I asked,” he snapped, “Did. You. Know?” he repeated, his voice holding an edge the Time Lady had never heard coming from the Doctor before.

She shook her head in the negative, her gaze dropping from the Time Lord as she took a step back. “No, I didn’t,” she admitted quietly, disheartened and the Doctor just managed to hear her words as she continued, “I only realised what would happen after I took in the vortex.”

The Doctor took a step towards Tanith, realising that she truly had no idea what would have happened, though stopped when she took another step away, still not looking at him.

“Tanith, I-”

“Don’t,” the Time Lady shook her head, “Just please, don’t.”

She turned away from the Doctor as she fiddled with her armband, unwilling to believe that it was happening all over again. Tanith may still be Zaly in a sense, holding every memory, every feeling that the part of her who had once believed herself to be human had, but she knew it wasn’t the same.

She wasn’t Zaly Pond and it hurt her more than she had thought possible. It hurt the Time Lady deeply to think she was once again, not enough.

Not human enough.

 _Human_....

Tanith wiped the tear from her eye before she took a deep breath, and without meeting the Doctor's gaze she turned back to the console and started working her way around it, flicking switches and pressing buttons as she went.

“Tanith, what are you doing?” the Doctor asked, trying to get her to stop, to look at him, but any time he got close to the red head, he was pushed back by an unseen force.

When Tanith finally did stop, she was standing in front of the lever that would take the TARDIS where she had programmed it. Her eyes were no longer dark brown, but a pitch black as she pushed everything behind occlumency walls she hadn’t used in almost two decades.

“I think Rose should be here,” she said, still not meeting the Doctor's gaze.

“I don’t want Rose here,” the Time Lord replied. But before he could elaborate in what he meant, Tanith spoke up again, causing him to pause.

“I know,” she finally looked to the Doctor, “But I can’t bring Zaly back and maybe it would be better if your companion was here instead of me.”

“Tani-” the Doctor began, only to be propelled backwards with a blast of golden light.

He clutched his stomach as though he had been punched and there was a flicker of concern that appeared on Tanith’s face before it was gone.

“It's starting,” the red head remarked with a frown as she stepped away from the console, glancing at her own hands as she did so.

Though she knew that her own regeneration had begun, Tanith knew that she had a bit more time before it happened. It was an added benefit of the armband, her mother and father knowing that it wouldn’t have been constructive to her cover if she regenerated in front of muggle and magical alike, giving away that she wasn’t human.

The Doctor however, had no such luck and it seemed that they were out of time. The Time Lady wasn’t too sure how she felt about that fact, though.

“I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex,” the Doctor said, managing to keep his pain from his voice, “No one's meant to do that!”

Tanith hesitated for a second as the Time Lord's face screwed up in pain before she took a step towards him. She knew what regeneration entailed, though she wasn’t sure what she could do to help him.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” the red head told him quietly, “I would have been fine.”

The Doctor shook his head, “The vortex, your body was beginning to reject it. That’s what went wrong,” he managed to get out, needing her to understand why had had taken it from her.

Eyebrows creasing, Tanith eyed the Doctor for a moment. “Why?” she asked.

The Doctor snorted despite his pain as he replied, “And I really thought you were the smart one,” causing one of Tanith's eyebrows to raise. She went to respond, but the Doctor continued, “Just, before I go, I wanna tell you. Despite what you think, you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.”

Tanith frowned, unsure what to make of his words. Was he talking about Zaly....or her true self?

“And d'you know what?” The Time Lord continued when Tanith shook her head, for once unable to say anything and he grinned, “So was I.”

Suddenly, he threw his head back as he exploded in golden energy, blasting out of the neck of his jumper, the sleeves of his jacket and the bottoms of his pants.

Tanith stumbled backwards, shielding her eyes from the heat and light as her own hands glowed golden, though it was quick to fade as her armband glowed, the runes inscribed on the inside activating. When the energy from the Doctor's regeneration finally faded, she dropped her hand and just stared at the Time Lord.

“That is not strange at all,” she muttered, eyeing the man who was standing before her, still wearing the Doctor's old clothes. A part of her wanted to laugh at the sight, although she held it back as the Doctor turned to her.

He looked a little surprised at first before grinning. “Hello! Okay....oo,” he gulped as Tanith raised an eyebrow before running his tongue over his new teeth, his eyebrows furrowed. “New teeth. That's weird,” he continued, “So, where was I? Oh, that's right. Barcelona.”

Tanith couldn’t hold it back any longer and burst into laughter at the sight of the Doctor. “Oh, Regulus is not going to believe this,” she stated as the Doctor, who looked remarkably like Barry Crouch Jr just continued to grin at her, wearing muggle clothes and talking of a planet that had dogs with no noses.

The Doctor, though a little confused by her remark, couldn’t help it as his grin grew at the sight of her laughing before taking off around the console.

He flicked a few switches, checking the monitor as he muttered under his breath, “6pm....Tuesday....”

Tanith watched him, a little bemused about his actions though knowing how out of sorts a Time Lord could be after regenerating.

“October....5006....,” the Doctor continued as he turned a dial, “On the way to Barcelona!” He straightened up and faced Tanith, grinning as if he was extremely pleased with himself. “Now then....what do you think?” he asked.

But before the Time Lady could even open her mouth to reply, the Doctor held up a hand.

“No, no no, no no no no no no no. No. Don’t tell me,” he stated, causing the red head to raise an eyebrow as he started to check himself out, “Let’s see....two legs, two arms, two hands....” he rotated one of his wrists as if testing it, “Slight weakness in the dorsal tubercle,” he observed before he hand both hands fly up to his head, “Hair! I’m not bald!”

Tanith just and shook her head at his declaration as the Time Lord ran his hands through his hair gleefully.

“Oh, oh! Big hair!” he continued, before finding his sideburns and his face lit up, his voice turning delighted, “Sideburns, I’ve got sideburns! Or really bad skin. Little bit thinner....” the Doctor slapped his stomach in emphasis, “That’s weird. Give me some time, I’ll get use to it.”

The red head frowned when the Doctor made a noise, like he had made the most amazing discovery in all of time and space, only to once again lose it when he spoke, “I....have got....a mole. I can feel it. Between my shoulder blades, there's a mole.”

The Doctor rotated his shoulders as he grinned at Tanith. “That’s all right. Love the mole. Go on then, tell me,” he straightened again, waiting for what the red head thought, “What do you think?”

“Honestly, Doc. I doubt you really want to know what I think,” Tanith replied with a smirk and the Doctor pouted.

“Oh, come on, Zaly. It can’t be tha....” he trailed off when Tanith's face fell before her expression cleared, becoming blank and he immediately realised his mistake.

Even though he knew, he understood what had happened with Tanith, and with Zaly when she had taken in the Time Vortex, his response had been automatic, conditioned. Zaly could never have known who she was, less it kill her and the Doctor was finding it extremely difficult to get through what he had done to protect her, to protect Tanith.

The Time Lady sighed as she looked away from the Doctor, her eyebrows furrowing. He clearly felt something more for Zaly than she had first assumed, and although she couldn’t understand why his attitude towards the part of her that had once believed that she was human had changed, knowing exactly who Zaly Pond was, it hurt her to know that he couldn’t accept all of her.

She wondered if it was even worth telling the Doctor that she was regenerating, though thought better of it. But as she twisted the armband on her forearm, Tanith couldn’t help but think that there was one thing she could do for the Doctor before Zaly Pond was gone for good. One thing she could never do for Severus.

“I’m sorry,” the red head said as she shook her head, looking back to the Doctor and managing a small smile, “It's just, you remind me of someone, and seeing you standing there, wearing those clothes and talking about dogs with no noses, I just couldn’t help but laugh.”

The Doctor grew confused, his eyebrows creasing slightly, unsure what she was doing.

“But I like it, although you may need a new set of clothes,” Tanith remarked, her nose wrinkling, “They don’t suit you, let alone fit you anymore. Big ears may have been able to rock that look, but big hair?” she shook her head, “Nope.”

“Oi, I did not have big ears!” the Time Lord shouted at her, affronted, though he couldn’t help it when he did, in fact, check his ears.

The movement caused Tanith's smile to become a little more real and she just raised an eyebrow at the Doctor who let out a breath of relief when he realised he no longer had big ears.

The moment he saw Tanith's expression however, he mock glared at her. “Any thing else you’d like to add?” he huffed, folding his arms across his chest, only to realise that he would need a new outfit, the clothes not fully fitting him any longer, as well as the style not being his taste.

Tanith just shook her head, “Nope. Think I’m done,” her smirk returned, “Although, can I make a suggestion?”

The Doctor's eyes narrowed on the red head, unsure if he should agree or not. After a moment though, he nodded his head, wondering what ‘suggestion’ she was going to make.

“I’d find a jacket that isn’t so easily picked,” she stated, holding up his psychic paper.

“How....when....what?!” the Doctor exclaimed as he patted down his jacket before checking the pockets, finding his psychic paper was missing. He frowned at Tanith and snatched it back, causing her to snort.

“Had to use something to pay for those paintball guns,” the red head shrugged as she turned away so the Doctor wouldn’t see her expression.

In all the drama of going back for the Doctor and him regenerating, Tanith had almost forgotten Mels, and Amelia. There was no way she could explain what was happening to Amelia, and Mels already had a general idea. Though the red head also knew that she should see them before she regenerated, at least to say goodbye.

Though, Tanith also knew that it wouldn’t be the last time she would see Amelia, remembering the day she had essentially ran into her future self. How long into the future that was however, she had no idea. The Doctor looked nothing like the floppy haired man she had met ten years ago.

The Doctor frowned as he pockets his psychic paper, seeing Tanith once again had her back to him, though before he could ask what was wrong, the red head shook her head and turned around.

“So, Barcelona?” Tanith asked, keeping her tone light as she moved around the console. She knew she was running out of time, and although she wanted to see Mels and Amelia before she did regenerate, a quick trip wouldn’t hurt. It was the least she could do before saying goodbye.

The Time Lord’s frown deepened as he watched her. He knew that Zaly had had a relationship, or whatever it was called with Mels, but now he was starting to get a sinking feeling that Tanith may have felt the same towards the other woman. He hadn’t actually thought that the Time Lady would hold the same memories as Zaly, having believed that they had been almost like two separate minds in the one body, but the comments the Time Lady had been making....

“Oh,” the Doctor breathed as her behaviour finally registered in his mind, causing the red head to glance at him questionably. He took a step towards her, realising she was doing the same thing he always did when something, or _someone_ hurt him or hit too close to home.

She had changed the topic, pretending what he had called her, acted towards her hadn’t mattered, hadn’t affected her, but he knew they had.

“Tanith, I didn’t....” he begun, only to gag and the TARDIS shuddered.

“Doctor?” Tanith questioned, a little confused by the Time Lord's actions as she glanced around, wondering what was going on.

“I said I didn’t....” he tried to get out, only to gag again, though this time more violently, making terrible retching sounds. “Uh oh.”

“Docto-” the red head began, only to pause when a wisp of the Time Vortex escaped from the Doctor's mouth.

“Oh....the change is going a bit wrong and all,” the Doctor managed to get out, only to gag once again, dropping to his knees in pain.

There was no hesitation from Tanith as she rushed over to his side, her expression both alarmed and worried. “I told you that you shouldn’t have done that,” she hissed, unable to help the words from coming forth in her worry, “Where's Jack?” she asked him, trying to figure out a way to help the Doctor.

There was a dark expression that passed over the Doctor's face, though it was gone seconds later as he spoke up, “Gah, he's busy! He’s got plenty to do rebuilding the Earth!”

Before Tanith could even comprehend his words, something caught the Time Lord's eye.

“I haven’t used this one in years,” he stated before flicking it, causing the TARDIS to shutter violently once again and almost throwing the pair off their feet.

“What are you doing?!” Tanith snapped as she tried to stop the out-of-control Time Lord as he continued to turn more knobs.

“Putting on a bit of speed! That's it!” the Doctor replied, his voice turning crazed, “My beautiful ship! Come on, faster! That's a girl!”

“Doctor, stop it!” the red head shouted as she went from trying to stop the Doctor, to trying to fix what he had done.

“Faster!” the Doctor continued, oblivious to what Tanith was doing, “Want to break the time limit?!”

“No, we don’t!” Tanith said as she reached for a lever, only for the Doctor to grab her wrist.

“Ah, don’t be so dull, Tanith....Let's have a bit of fun! Let's rip through that vortex!” he snapped nastily, only to yelp when something shocked him.

It looked to do the trick however, as the Doctor seemed to calm for a moment.

“The regenerations gone wrong. I can’t stop myself,” he managed to explain, only to grimace and grasp his head, “Ah, my head....”

Before Tanith could do anything, the Time Lord’s calmness disappeared, the crazy look reappearing in both his eyes and his voice as he declared, “Faster! Let's open those engines!”

“Uh, let's not!” Tanith replied, only to pause when a bell sounded, “Please tell me that's not what I think it is?!” the red head shouted over the sound of the bell, only to jump when the Doctor's face appeared next to her.

“Okay, I won’t!” he laughed manically as he dashed off around the console, “We’re gonna crash land!”

“Doctor, do something!” the red head shouted, feeling way out of her depth. First, the Doctor's regeneration going wrong, and now crashing the TARDIS.

“Too late! Out of control!” he told her, his voice rising historically before giggling, “Oh, I love it! Hot dawg!” he exclaimed, hopping into the air excitedly.

“You’re gonna kill us!” Tanith snapped, her magic crackling around her, finally having enough of what the Doctor was doing.

“Hold on tight, here we go!”

Amber eyes met dark brown, almost black across the console. The Doctor was grinning madly while Tanith grit her teeth as she held on, unable to do anything else.

“Christmas Eve....!” the Doctor shouted, causing Tanith's expression to turn baffled.

“What?!” she exclaimed.

\----

Inside the Tyler’s flat, Rose and Jackie were decorating a plastic white Christmas tree and putting presents under it.

“Oh, come on, dear. It’s not that bad,” Jackie said as she saw her daughter’s eyes once again look towards the nearest window, almost as if the younger blonde was expecting the TARDIS to show up at any time and whisk her away on more adventures.

“It's all her fault,” Rose huffed, putting the present she was holding under the tree a little rougher than intended, but she didn’t notice as she stood up. “Ever since Zaly stole the TARDIS, he hasn’t come back. I know if it wasn’t for her, the Doctor would have returned by now.”

Jackie frowned as she too stood up, “I thought you said all she wanted to do was go home?” she asked, remembering her daughter had complained constantly after the blue box had disappeared about Zaly having stolen the ship, despite only wanting to get home.

Rose scoffed, “She lied. The moment she was alone in that TARDIS, she took it, _stole_ it. _I_ should have been the one to go back and save him, not her!”

“Now, Rose. That’s enough,” Jackie told the younger blonde, “You have no idea what happened when that box disappeared, and for all we know, they could be dead. You told me he sent you home, to save you. Just be thankful you’re alive. It’s Christmas, for crying out loud.”

Rose actually seemed to be contemplating her mother’s words, only for a familiar sound to reach their ears and she grinned. “I _knew_ he wouldn’t leave me behind!” Rose shouted as she rushed out of the flat.

“Rose!” Jackie called after her before following. A part of her had rather hoped she would never have to hear or see that blue box and the Doctor again, but it seemed fate had other ideas.

\----

The Doctor and Tanith were thrown off there feet when the TARDIS finally crash-landed, and the red head was rather surprised that it managed to stay upright.

As she went to get up however, she winced as pain shot through her right arm and she looked to it, only for her eyes to widen in alarm at the sight of the large crack running through her armband, as well as the gash just below it.

Her hands shimmered golden and the armband tried to activate, glowing ever so slightly before flickering out and the Time Lady knew she was now out of time. The only thing holding back her regeneration was her own willpower, but as her eyes sort the Doctor, she knew she couldn’t let that happen just yet. She needed to make sure he would be fine first.

The Time Lord in question didn’t even glance in Tanith's direction as he scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door, throwing them open.

Tanith went to follow him, but paused at the scanner when something caught her eye. “Of course he manages to get the date right during a crash landing,” she huffed, seeing that they were near her flat, and it was indeed, Christmas Eve.

Why, of all the places they could have gone, the Doctor had chosen here, the Time Lady didn’t know. But the moment she heard him speaking with someone, she shook her head, deciding that keeping him out of trouble and getting him back inside the TARDIS and safety was her first priority.

The moment she stepped out of the TARDIS however, Tanith rushed to the Doctor's side, seeing him on the ground. “What happened?” she asked, looking up at whoever he had been speaking with and blinked in surprise when she saw that it was Jackie, Mickey, and....Rose.

“I don’t know,” Mickey stated, completely lost as to what was going on, “He just keeled over. But who is he? Where's the Doctor?”

Tanith listened as she checked the Time Lord’s pulse, sighing when she realised he was resting, having fallen into a healing coma.

“This _is_ the Doctor,” she told them as she looked back to the group, only to frown when they just continued to stare at her, almost as if she was talking in a completely different language. Rolling her eyes, she looked back to the unconscious Time Lord, “And you never told them, did you?” she muttered, wondering if she would ever get a break.

“What did you do?!” Rose snapped, glaring at the Time Lady, “Where's the Doctor, Zaly?”

Tanith let out a sigh as she looked up at the blonde, “As I said,” she said slowly, once again wondering if the blonde was stupid, “ _He_ is the Doctor.”

“What do you mean, ‘he is the Doctor'?” Jackie questioned, “Doctor who?”

Tanith ran a hand through her hair, wondering if it was possible to fall into a coma as well. There were many spells she knew that would do that, but decided against doing any, less she ‘accidently' hit someone other than herself. And as tempting as it sounded, she knew it wouldn’t be the right thing to do.

“Mickey, do you think you could help me get him back into the TARDIS?” she asked, looking to the young man, “He needs to be somewhere safe while he heals.”

“Uh, sure,” Mickey replied and went to help Tanith, only to be stopped by Rose.

“No, your not taking him back in there. You’ll probably run off again and until the Doctor shows up, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

“Is she always like this?” Tanith asked Mickey as she just looked to Rose with an expression of weary tolerance.

“Pretty muc-” Mickey begun, only to see Tanith's hand shimmer, “What was that?” he asked, staring at her hand.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” she replied before frowning, “So where would you like to take the _Doctor_ , then?” she asked Rose, changing the subject.

\----

Against Tanith's better judgement, the Doctor was now laying in a bed in the Tyler's flat, wearing a pair of pyjamas.

Jackie walked into the room with a stethoscope, though Tanith just rolled her eyes as Rose took them off her mother.

She had tried to explain to the blonde that the Time Lord was fine, just needing rest, but it seemed like the blondes dislike towards Tanith, or Zaly as she kept calling her, had only grown since the Time Lady had gone back to save the Doctor.

“Here we go. Tina the cleaner's got this lodger, a medical student, and she was fast asleep, so I just took it,” Jackie told them, “Though I still say we should take him to hospital.”

“Yes, and that would be a marvellous idea,” Tanith snarked, causing both Rose and her mother to look at her. “Oh, what do you think they’d do to him the moment they realise he’s an alien?” she snapped, getting annoyed, “Throw him a blasted party. Merlin, they’d dissect him. Study him. Hand him over to them, and you’d never see you beloved Doctor again,” she sneered at Rose.

Rose’s mouth opened in surprise and Tanith just rolled her eyes....again.

“Will you shut your mouth and just confirm what I’ve been telling you all along,” the red head snapped, causing the younger blonde to jump before doing just that.

Rose listened to one side of the Doctor's chest before moving the stethoscope to the other side. Her eyebrows flew upwards when she heard the Time Lord's second heart and looked to Tanith. “Both are working,” she breathed.

“What do you mean, both?” Jackie asked.

“As I’ve been saying,” Tanith sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, “That is the Doctor. He’s a Time Lord with two hearts.”

“Oh, don’t be stupid,” Jackie scoffed.

Tanith just raised an eyebrow at Jackie before wincing, though neither blonde noticed as Rose finally seemed to believe what she had been telling her since exiting the TARDIS.

“He has,” the younger blonde told her mother, glancing at the Doctor. She couldn’t help but wonder how the man in the bed was the same man she had travelled with though.

Jackie eyed the Time Lord curiously, but before she said anything, Tanith cut in, having seen her expression.

“I wouldn’t even go there.”

Jackie frowned, but decided better of it and left the room. The moment she was gone, Rose rounded on the Time Lady.

“What did you do to him?” she demanded, but Tanith wasn’t listening as she noticed the Doctor exhale more of the vortex, her own hand glowing slightly at the closeness to it before it disappeared out the window.

Tanith got up and left the room, needing some space to figure out what she was going to do. She didn’t want to leave the Doctor with the humans, but knowing she so close to regenerating, the Time Lady knew that she couldn’t stick around if she wanted to see Mels and Amelia before she did change.

“I’m talking to you!” Rose snapped, grabbing Tanith's arm, though she was quick to let go of it when the Time Lady hissed in pain.

“You’re bleeding,” Mickey stated, having come to make sure there wasn’t going to be an argument between the pair and seeing Tanith's arm.

“It's fine,” Tanith said as she rolled down her sleeve, shooting Rose a glare, “And for your information, he saved me,” she told the blonde before turning on her heel.

“Like hell he would!” Rose snapped, “Why would he save you? You’re nothing but a thief and have acted like a spoilt brat since the moment you entered the TARDIS, always whining and complaining for the Doctor to take you home. Why don’t you do us all a favour and leave!”

“Rose, do-” Mickey begun, only to be stopped by Tanith as she placed a hand up, silencing him.

The Time Lady turned to Rose, her eyes narrowing. “Do you want to know what the Doctor did? What caused him to be the way he is right now?” she asked, her voice coming out quiet, but hard.

Rose nodded, though she was a little startled by the red heads tone.

“I took in the Heart of the TARDIS to save him, just like you would have,” she stopped Rose from interrupting with a look that would have made Severus proud before continuing, “Don’t even try and deny that you wouldn’t have tried anything to save your precious Doctor,” she stated coldly, and Rose swallowed heavily, “I did what I had to do to keep him alive, but my body started to reject the Time Vortex and he took it from me to save my life. He changed because I wouldn’t....no, I couldn’t let him die alone, surrounded by Daleks. He changed because of me.”

“This is your fault, then,” Rose exclaimed, her own eyes narrowing on Tanith.

“I never said it wasn’t,” the red head replied evenly, startling the blonde with her admission, “I may be a thief, Rose Tyler, but I did what I thought was right. Blame me all you like, but don’t you _dare_ blame him. That man in there is still the Doctor and you better treat him as such.”

Without another word, Tanith turned and left the flat, the door slamming closed behind her.

Rose and Mickey watched her go, rather speechless as Jackie reappeared.

“Where did Zaly go?” the elder blonde questioned, noticing the red head was no longer there.

Before either of them could reply, the three humans jumped when there was a thunderous crack from outside.

Inside the bedroom, the Doctor frowned, his eyebrows knitting together, having heard every word that had been said.

\----

When Tanith reappeared, she was in the backyard of the house she, as Zaly, had grown up in.

She stumbled and lent against the shed that had once been destroy, letting out a hiss before quickly ripping off her armband as the metal dug into her skin, only to end up on her knees as she tried to fight back her regeneration.

Normally the armband gave her enough time to get somewhere safe before regenerating, but she had been pushing it way beyond its limits, and herself after it had cracked.

There was a light coming from one of the windows and the red head managed a grin when she realised that Amelia was still awake, probably either waiting for the Doctor to show up like she did every year, or was spending time with Rory and Mels.

There was the sound of running feet, having been drawn to the sound of Tanith's apparation and before the red head could do anything, she found herself engulfed in a hug.

“Oh, gods,” Mels breathed as she pulled away, “I thought something had gone wrong.”

“Wha-” Tanith started, only to be cut off by someone else.

“Zaly, where the hell have you been!” Amelia shouted as she approached the pair, only to gasp at the sight of her sister, “What happened?”

“It's nothing,” Tanith replied, trying to stand up, only to let out a cry as her body was racked with pain, her hands glowing.

Mels was quick to support her, shooting the red head a worried look as she spoke to Amelia, “Amy, can you get us some water, please. Zaly just needs a rest and she'll be fine.”

Amelia frowned, but was quick to disappear back inside the house. The moment she was gone, Mels turned to the Time Lady.

“How long?” she asked, knowing there was no point in trying to pry.

“Not....long....enough,” the red head panted, her voice strained, “Came to say....argh!” Tanith cried out again as she pushed herself away from Mels, not wanting to hurt the woman.

“Here, I got the water,” Amelia called as she rushed back outside, although she almost dropped the glass when she noticed Tanith's hands, “What is that?!” she screeched.

“I’m sorry, Amelia. I guess I took too long,” Tanith said, looking to the woman whom had been her sister for the last twenty years, “I got a little side-tracked.”

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Amelia asked as she went to approach her sister, only to be stopped by Mels.

“You need to stay back,” the woman told her, causing Amelia to frown as she looked between the pair.

“I can’t stay,” the Time Lady said as she winced, her hand tightening around her armband, “But I wanted to say goodbye.”

“Zaly, if you don’t tell me what's going on, right now, I swear-”

“Amy, shut it,” Mels snapped as Tanith looked to her armband.

There was a flash of light that appeared around the broken band before it faded and the Time Lady looked back to her sister and partner.

“I won’t forget you, either of you,” she told them as she managed to get to her feet, “And I’m sorry, but it’s for the best.”

“Tanith?” Mels questioned, taking a step towards the red head, missing Amelia's surprised look as she stared at her sister.

“I’m sorry,” Tanith said, tears appearing in her eyes as she took a step towards them, “But I’d just end up hurting you.”

Before either could respond, Tanith grabbed their hands and managed to get them both to hold the armband.

“I love you,” she whispered as their eyes glazed over and she took a step back and disapparated.

When the pair finally came back to their senses, Mels and Amelia frowned.

“Amy, I swear to God, I am not doing another Doctor hunt with you. Get Rory to go with you if you really want to,” Mels said before frowning at the armband she and Amelia were holding.

“But, I wasn’t....how did we even get out here?” Amelia asked as she dropped her hand from the armband and scratched her head, “Maybe we did have a few to many,” she shrugged before going back inside.

Mels stated at the armband for a moment longer before a small smile appeared on her face. “Good luck, Tanith,” she whispered before following after the red head, slipping the band on her arm.

She knew she’d have to thank Regulus and Valencia later for their gift, but first, she had to make sure Tanith’s crazy planned had worked with Amelia.

“Amy, wait up!” she called, causing the other woman to pause, “Have you seen Zaly?” she asked, only to receive a confused look from the red head.

“Who?” Amelia asked, and Mels just shook her head.

“Doesn’t matter,” she replied as they headed back inside.


End file.
